Former five-star recruit, Payton Verhulst, decides to leave the Louisville Women’s Basketball program and enter her name into the transfer portal.
Payton Verhulst in the portal out of Louisville, source familiar to the situation says. Sophomore should have 3 years of eligibility left.
— Mitchell Northam (@primetimeMitch) December 4, 2022
Was the No. 12 recruit in the 2021 class, per ESPN. Kansas native was an All-ACC Freshman Team selection last season. #ncaaW @TheNextHoops
Louisville’s matchup against Middle Tennessee State yesterday was the team’s first game without the 6-foot-1 sophomore guard. In her absence, the Cardinals would go to lose handily to the Blue Raiders with a final score of 49-67, marking the first time in Louisville history that the Men’s and Women’s basketball programs lost both of their games by at least 17 points.
During her time with the Cardinals, Verhulst never cracked the starting lineup. In her freshman outing with the team, she only averaged 11.1 minutes a game over 32 games and put up 3.3 points in those minutes.
This season, she averaged more minutes in eight games this season with 15.1 minutes and averaged more points with 6.4 points. It appeared her trajectory in the Jeff Walz offense was headed upward, but she did not want to stick around to find out.
A former five-star recruit and former USA Today National Female Athlete of the Year saw her value higher than the Cardinals did and therefore is looking for another opportunity at the collegiate level to continue her career. If she finds another school this season, then her eligibility will not kick in until the 2023-2024 season.