College women's basketball: Syracuse adds Maryland transfer Alaysia Styles to roster

Josh St. Croix, Watertown Daily Times, N.Y.
·2 min read

Jun. 12—Alaysia Styles will join the Syracuse University women's basketball team as a graduate transfer for next season after leaving Maryland through the NCAA transfer portal.

Syracuse confirmed the addition of Styles on Thursday.

The 6-foot-3 forward from San Diego played her senior season for the Terrapins after three years with the California Golden Bears.

Styles joined Maryland for the spring semester and averaged 4.9 points on 60 percent shooting to go with 2.8 rebounds in 21 games off the bench to help spark a Sweet 16 berth. She added 24 steals and did not attempt a 3-point field goal.

Styles appeared in 88 games over three seasons at Cal, averaging 8.4 points in 30 starts as a junior.

She is the seventh incoming transfer committed to join the Orange after 12 players opted to leave via transfer after a 15-9 season that ended with a second-round NCAA loss to UConn.

Styles joins forward Eboni Walker (Arizona State) along with guards Shalexxus Aaron (USC), Jayla Thorton (Howard), Najé Murray (Texas Tech), Christianna Carr (Kansas State) and Chrislyn Carr (Baylor) as incoming transfers for SU coach Quentin Hillsman entering his 16th season at the helm.

Syracuse lost the reigning Atlantic Coast Conference Freshman of the Year and top-ranked recruit of Hillsman's tenure — 6-foot-6 center Kamilla Cardoso — to South Carolina among the dozen players exiting through the transfer portal.

The other key departures from last year's rotation include seniors Kiara Lewis (Clemson), Digna Strautmane (Georgia Tech) and Amaya Finklea-Guity (Duke), redshirt junior Maeva Djaldi-Tabdi (Miami, Fla.), and junior Emily Engstler (Louisville).

Freshman starter Priscilla Williams highlights the trio of returning players and SU will add the nation's 11th-ranked recruiting class to go with the influx of transfer additions.