The rebuilding process has begun for new Arizona women’s basketball coach Becky Burke.
Burke, who was hired Wednesday, secured her first transfer commitment Friday. It came from Noelani Cornfield, who played for Burke at Buffalo.
Cornfield, a 5-foot-6 guard, averaged 10.9 points, 5.9 assists, 4.1 rebounds and 2.5 steals this past season for the Bulls, helping them win the WNIT championship. She was named to the Mid-American Conference All-Defensive Team.
Noelani Cornfield
Cornfield announced her commitment on Instagram, stating: “After careful thought and consideration, and long conversations with my friends and family, I have decided to exhaust my last year of eligibility and accept Coach Burke’s offer to follow her to the University of Arizona. I want to thank everyone who has been a part of not only my decision process but the journey itself. ... Go Wildcats!”
Cornfield began her college career in 2020 at Northwest Florida State College. She played two seasons for the Raiders and the next two at Southern Mississippi before transferring to Buffalo.
She is eligible to play one more season thanks to a waiver granted by the NCAA that allows athletes who attended and competed at a non-NCAA school — Northwest Florida is a junior college — for at least one year to compete in 2025-26 if they otherwise would have exhausted their eligibility in 2024-25.
Burke basically is building the Wildcats’ roster from scratch as only one scholarship player, forward Montaya Dew, did not enter the transfer portal in the wake of longtime UA coach Adia Barnes’ departure for SMU.
Burke is set to be introduced at a news conference at 4 p.m. Friday at McKale Center.
