COLLEGE PARK - -Maryland women's basketball coach Brenda Frese says an alarming number of women are transferring this year from Division I programs in the sport, leaving coaches and experts to figure out why.
"It's amazing," Frese said as she examined the names of about 100 recent transfers on a list compiled by Dan Olson, owner of the Collegiate Girls Basketball Report, a subscription service.
"I've never seen a list like that before," Frese said this week. "It's almost a new trend, and not a positive trend."
Two of Frese's players from last season have transferred. Guard Marah Strickland, a two-time Baltimore Sun All-Metro Player of the Year at Towson Catholic, will play for South Carolina. Drey Mingo, a 6-foot-2 forward, is headed to Purdue. Their departures - along with the more significant losses of senior standouts Kristi Toliver and Marissa Coleman to the WNBA - leave Frese to retool a team that was upset by Louisville in its bid to reach last season's Final Four.
Maryland wasn't hit as hard as some schools. Four Arizona players are leaving, including two transferring to San Diego State, according to Olson's list and the San Diego State athletics Web site. Wichita State, which underwent a coaching change in 2008, has seen four players depart since the season ended.
Louisville lost three players to transfers after making it to the NCAA tournament championship game, according to Olson and media reports. Calls to Louisville were referred to assistant sports information director Kim Pemberton, who was not immediately available.
An increasing number of coaches are expressing concern about high transfer rates in women's and men's basketball.
Frese said young college athletes and their supporters often bring high - and sometimes unrealistic - expectations about playing time and their abilities.
"I also think these kids are committing at early ages without doing their homework and doing the visits," Frese said. "They're deciding sooner, and maybe they didn't have a full picture of what everything is going to be like."
Frese said she already has three oral commitments for players entering in 2010. Because of NCAA rules, Frese declined to comment on the recruits. The players are Alyssa Thomas, a 6-1 wing from Central Dauphin High in Harrisburg, Pa., Natasha Cloud, a 6-0 combo guard from Cardinal O'Hara in Springfield, Pa., and Laurin Mincy, a 6-0 shooting guard from University High in Newark, N.J. According to ESPN HoopGurlz, Mincy is the No. 13 player nationally in the class of 2010, while Thomas (42) and Cloud (95) also crack the top 100.
