Guard Kailyn Gilbert has become the latest Arizona womenβs basketball player to enter the transfer portal.
Gilbertβs departure puts the total at six, including three members of the 2022 recruiting class.
Gilbert averaged 4.9 points, 1.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 10.6 minutes as a freshman this past season. She shot 71.8% from the foul line and 35.1% from beyond the 3-point arc.
Gilbert was the 31st-ranked player in the class of 2022, per ESPNβs HoopGurlz. The only member of Arizonaβs four-person β22 class whoβs still with the team is forward Maya Nnaji, the ninth-ranked player in the class.
The Wildcats are set to welcome two top-25 players this summer, high school teammates and McDonaldβs All-Americans Breya Cunningham and Jada Williams. Williams, the 21st-ranked recruit in the class of β23, is a point guard whom Gilbert would have competed with for playing time. The two also conceivably could have played together.
UA coach Adia Barnes participated in a thread on an Arizona womenβs basketball fan page on Facebook and explained Gilbertβs departure.
βKailyn wants to play more and be closer to home,β Barnes said. βI love that kid!!β
Gilbert is from Tampa, Florida.
Arizona currently has six players on its projected roster for 2023-24: Cunningham, Williams, fellow 2023 recruit Montaya Dew (who enrolled in January), Nnaji and veterans Esmery Martinez and Helena Pueyo.
Like countless other coaches across the country, Barnes will utilize the portal to fill out her roster.
