The Duke women's basketball program has already lost a few players to the transfer portal this far, but this exit is certainly the most costly, as sophomore Oluchi Okananwa has entered the NCAA transfer portal after two seasons in Durham.
BREAKING: Duke’s Oluchi Okananwa has entered the transfer portal, sources told @On3sports.
— Talia Goodman (@TaliaGoodmanWBB) April 11, 2025
The 5-10 sophomore averaged 10.1 ppg and 5.3 rpg this season.
TRACKER: https://t.co/StsxDxjlYl pic.twitter.com/oQDNes76Fo
Okananwa was a key reserve off the bench for Kara Lawson through her two seasons with the Blue Devils, averaging 21.4 and 22.4 minutes per game in 2023-24 and 2024-25 respectively. This past season, the Boston, MA native averaged 10.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.8 steals a night on 47.3% shooting from the field and 30% shooting from three-point range.
Through the portal cycle for Duke women's basketball thus far, no key contributors have elected to hit the portal until now. It was hoped that the program could bring back most, if not all, of its key pieces from its 2024-25 squad that won the ACC Tournament, earned a 2-seed in the NCAA Tournament, and made it to the Elite 8. At this time, at least one key contributor from that team will be out.
Okananwa earned ACC Sixth Player of the Year as a freshman in 2024, averaging 9.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 1.3 steals a night on 47.8% shooting from the floor and 34.8% shooting from three off the bench for the Blue Devils.
The 5'10 guard was a huge piece to the Blue Devils' success in the ACC Tournament, averaging 16.3 points on 65.2% shooting from the field and 75% shooting from beyond the arc through Duke's three ACC Tournament games. She capped the conference tournament off with a 22-point and 10-rebound double-double effort in the Blue Devils' 76-62 ACC Tournament Championship victory over North Carolina State.
The sophomore averaged 9.7 points per game in the NCAA Tournament for Duke in 2025.
Even with this exit, the Duke women's basketball program still has most of its core still remaining to return in 2025-26, including Toby Fournier, the 2024-25 ACC Rookie of the Year. The only departures at this point are Okananwa and Reigan Richardson, as Richardson is out of collegiate eligibility. Okananwa and Richardson were the third and fourth-leading scorers for the Blue Devils in 2024-25, respectively.