KU women announce signing of key transfer portal target

It’s no secret that the Kansas women’s basketball did extremely well on the recruiting trail this cycle, adding top targets Jaliya Davis, a McDonald’s All-American, and Keely Parks, to next season’s roster.

Those two headline a 2025 class that also features impact potential from guard Libby Fandel and forward Tatyonna Brown.

Davis (Kansas), Fandel (Iowa) and Parks (Oklahoma) were each named the Gatorade Player of the Year in their respective states.

That quartet of freshmen alone would’ve led most to hand out high marks to Kansas coach Brandon Schneider and his staff for their recruiting efforts this cycle.

And while each one of those players figures to be heard from sooner rather than later, possibly in some pretty profound ways while wearing crimson and blue, one of the program’s biggest pickups of the offseason came this week, when the Jayhawks landed a commitment from Indiana forward Lilly Meister out of the transfer portal.

A 6-foot-3 post player with good size, experience and athleticism, Meister figures to have a big role for the Jayhawks right away, as KU continues to search for more production from its frontcourt since the departure of Taiyanna Jackson two years ago.

Her numbers won’t exactly wow you — 6.7 points and 3.5 rebounds per game in 17 starts for the Hoosiers last season — but it’s more about how she plays, the experience she has and what she can provide the Kansas offense than it is expecting her to become a double-double machine.

Most of her offensive production last season at Indiana came inside the paint, and Schneider said Meister should “excel” in the pick-and-roll game, while noting that her 96 games with the Hoosiers and desire to be a key part of a winning program should serve the Jayhawks well.

Meister should fit well with 6-3 forward Regan Williams, who played bigger than her size for the Jayhawks last season and also showed that she can play on the perimeter and shoot from the outside.

In fact, Schneider, who has known Meister since recruiting her in high school out of Rochester, Minnesota, said in announcing the signing that Meister should fit well both with KU’s returning crew and the group of incoming freshmen mentioned above.

Meister is the first transfer to sign with the KU women for next season, and she joins the Jayhawks’ highly touted high school recruiting class that is ranked No. 6 in the country by ESPNW.

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