The Washington women's basketball team felt close to going deep into the NCAA Tournament last season. The roster truly felt like it was maybe one or two pieces away. After Tina Langley signed her new contract to remain the Husky women's basketball coach, she has worked increasingly hard to add those upgrades. The fourth and maybe final player in the transfer portal could be her biggest yet.
Washington has added former Kentucky Wildcat Kaelyn Carroll, a 5-star recruit from the 2025 recruiting class, a top-15 player in her recruiting class, and a McDonald's All-American. She's 6'3 and knows how to score the basketball but also shag rebounds. She's a very important addition for the Huskies and will immediately become a starter.
NEWS: Kentucky transfer Kaelyn Carroll has committed to Washington.
— Talia Goodman (@TaliaGoodmanWBB) May 2, 2026
The 6-3 freshman averaged 3.4 ppg this season.
TRACKER: https://t.co/wYv1Ze6704 pic.twitter.com/iFoXAXGyiB
Kaelyn Carroll will get a great opportunity by transferring to Washington
The Kentucky women are a good basketball program, especially since Kenny Brooks took over the helm. However, Brooks has a style of coaching that doesn't work well for depth. He's known to barely use his bench. He also doesn't immediately insert freshman (or usually doesn't), no matter how good. This strategy is tougher and tougher in the NIL era, where players like Carroll are looking to make a big impact immediately.
Carroll did get decent minutes by Brooks' standards, averaging over 11 minutes per game. But at Washington, she will have a starting spot, and while the offense doesn't need to run through Carroll, it can. The forward can impact the game in a big way for the Huskies, but also alleviate pressure on the other players on the roster.
This is now the fourth transfer that Washington has added for the women's basketball program. It started with legacy recruit Macey Huard from Oklahoma State, Tilda Trygger from North Carolina State, Brooke Carlson from Colorado State, and now Carroll.
The roster has been upgraded across the board, and it was already a team that was returning plenty of star power in Sayvia Sellers, Avery Howell, and Brynn McGaughy. This next season may be the best Washington women's basketball has been in a long time.
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