Portal Paydays, Camp Cuts, & Caitlin Coverage

The transfer portal is officially closed… sort of. But the chaos? Very much alive.

This week, I break down what happens when 1,500 women’s basketball players enter the portal, why Audi Crooks’ headline-making move may say just as much about NIL and financial power as it does about basketball, and what Stanford’s seven-player roster exodus could reveal about the future of the program.

Then we tackle a listener question from Bonnie in Maryland about WNBA training camps: how players actually get invited, why camp is a huge deal, and what it means when roughly 18 elite athletes show up competing for about 12 roster spots. Spoiler alert: camp invite does not equal job security.

Plus, we zoom out on the bigger picture: what roster-building really looks like in women’s basketball right now—from college player movement to the brutal math of making a WNBA team.

And of course, the awards:

🏆 Buzzer Beater: Aliyah Boston’s record-setting $6.3 million contract

 🎈 Air Ball: Dallas Wings PR for stepping in during Azzi Fudd’s introductory press conference

 🚨 Flagrant Foul: Dawn Montgomery for ignoring the business reality behind Caitlin Clark and Indiana Fever’s TV dominance

From portal pressure to pro dreams, this episode is all about opportunity, leverage, and who really gets to control the narrative in women’s basketball.

Follow, rate, and share Her Game Her Voice so you never miss an episode.

“Big stories, little episodes—amplifying the voices shaping the game on and off the court." - Her Game Her Voice Podcast by Kaari Peterson

Transcript

Kaari 0:04

Howdy Hoop Heads, and welcome to Her Game Her Voice, a podcast with big stories about women's basketball in 15 minutes or less. I'm your host, Kaari Peterson.

Kaari 0:15

Today, I've got one more report from the transfer portal, a listener question about WNBA training camps, and thoughts about what it takes to build a WNBA roster.

Kaari 0:28

And as always, I'll wrap it up with the awards.

Kaari 0:31

Now let's tip it off!

Kaari 0:34

 I affectionately call this next segment the portal. Are we there yet?

The Transfer Portal: Are We There Yet?

Kaari 0:38

The Women's College Basketball Transfer Portal is officially closed. Well, sort of. The portal window closed April 22nd, but commitments keep rolling in. So just because a player is still unsigned in late April doesn't automatically mean she's out of luck. But it does mean the musical chairs are disappearing quickly.

Kaari 1:06

And here's the wild part. We actually don't have a publicly available final tally showing exactly how many women's basketball players entered the portal and never secured a new D1 roster spot, which honestly feels very on-brand for the chaos known as the transfer portal.

Kaari 1:28

We know 1,500 women's basketball players entered the D1 portal.

Kaari 1:34

We know some programs use the portal to level up.

Kaari 1:38

And we also know some schools had to use the portal to basically rebuild their entire roster.

Kaari 1:47

So who won and who absolutely got gutted?

Kaari 1:52

Among the hardest hit programs, we've got Stanford, Tennessee, and Iowa State.

Kaari 2:00

Now let's talk about Iowa State because wow, nine cyclones entered the portal after the season, including arguably the biggest prize of them all, Audi Crooks.

Kaari 2:13

Yes, Audi Crooks, the second leading scorer in D1 women's basketball this past season, behind Vanderbilt's Michaela Blake's.

Kaari 2:25

Crooks averaged 25.8 points per game, led the Big 12 in scoring again, she did it last year, too, shot nearly 65% from the field, and basically lived in the paint like she owned property there.

Kaari 2:41

She wasn't just good, she was one of the most dominant players in the country. So naturally, when Audi goes into the portal, powerhouse programs came calling, including schools like Notre Dame and South Carolina, programs with national title history.

Kaari 2:58

And where did Audie land? Oklahoma State.

Kaari 3:03

Yep, Oklahoma State, home of the cowgirls.

Kaari 3:08

And if you're like me, at first glance, that feels a little bit like turning down Beyonce tickets and instead choosing to hang out at a Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant.

Kaari 3:19

It's like a no-brainer.

Kaari 3:20

But then you hear the number. Reportedly $1.4 million for one season at Oklahoma State. And suddenly this starts sounding a lot less confusing because maybe this isn't just about chasing championships.

Kaari 3:37

Maybe this is about leverage.

Kaari 3:39

Maybe it's about maximizing one year of eligibility in a system that finally allows elite women athletes to cash in before they become part of the WNBA's salary structure.

Kaari 3:51

I get it.

Kaari 3:52

By choosing Oklahoma State, Audi keeps herself in the Big 12. There's familiar competition, fewer new variables, immediate star status, and apparently a very healthy direct deposit.

Kaari 4:07

So yes, Audi Crooks may have left Iowa State, but did she lose?

Kaari 4:12

Financially speaking, absolutely not.

Kaari 4:16

Basketball-wise, that's where it gets interesting.

Kaari 4:20

Because now the question becomes: are you chasing a championship ring or are you chasing a bag of cash?

Kaari 4:29

And in 2026 women's college basketball, for maybe the first time at this scale, players actually have a choice.

Kaari 4:40

And while Audi Crooks may be one of the portal's biggest winners, not every portal story is just about where players are going.

Kaari 4:48

Sometimes the bigger story is where they're leaving.

Kaari 4:53

Take Stanford.

Kaari 4:54

All seven of Stanford women's basketball players who entered the portal have already found new D1 homes. So good for them.

Kaari 5:04

But that also means Stanford now has seven major roster spots to figure out.

Kaari 5:09

And when that many players head for the exit at the same time, people start asking questions about culture, about coaching, about exactly what is going on behind the scenes.

Kaari 5:22

And apparently Stanford knows people are asking these questions because Stanford season ticket holders, myself included, were invited to a Zoom call tomorrow with the chair of the athletic department and both men's and women's basketball coaches.

Kaari 5:38

Could this be damage control, transparency, a little bit of both?

Kaari 5:43

I'll let you know, because I will absolutely be on that call.

Kaari 5:50

And trust me, I'll have more to say about that in the next episode.

Listener Question

Kaari 5:56

Because in the Transfer Portal era, roster movement tells a story, and roster departures tell an even bigger one. And now it's time for our listener question. Today's question is from Bonnie in Rockville, Maryland.

Kaari 6:16

She asks, can you talk about WNBA training camps? How do players end up at a specific team's camp? And how big of a deal is it to even get invited?

Kaari 6:27

Excellent question, Bonnie. Because WNBA training camp, let's just say it's not like summer camp. It's more like a two-week pressure cooker.

Kaari 6:37

Careers can launch, shift, or disappear.

Kaari 6:41

Each WNBA team can typically bring up to about 18 players into a camp. And that group can include veterans, draft picks, undrafted free agents, international players, and other camp invitees.

Kaari 6:57

Camp is where teams evaluate talent, but it's also where they solve a giant roster math problem. Because while around 18 players may arrive, usually only about 12 make the regular season roster. That means even recent draft picks can get cut.

Kaari 7:16

But hey, making it to a camp matters because it means a team sees something in you.

Kaari 7:21

Here's an important detail: an invitation is not the same thing as job security. A lot of training camp contracts are non-guaranteed, which basically means congrats, you get to audition. Now prove to us that you deserve this role.

Kaari 7:38

Some players come in with established contracts. Some are battling to keep their spot on a team's roster, and some are simply trying not to be the first name crossed off the list.

Kaari 7:50

The bottom line: getting invited to a training camp is absolutely significant. It means that you're in contention, but until that roster is finalized, you're still competing for a job in professional sports that is very hard to get.

Kaari 8:08

18 elite athletes looking for space in the locker room with roughly 12 lockers available.

Kaari 8:17

That situation definitely gives pressure cooker vibes.

Kaari 8:22

Thanks for the question, Bonnie.

Kaari 8:24

Do you have one for me?

The Awards

Kaari 8:25

Send it to host at her gamehervoice.com. And now it's time for the awards.

Buzzerbeater Award

Kaari 8:35

First up, the Buzzer Beater Award. This week's Buzzerbeater Award goes to the amazing Aliyah Boston.

Kaari 8:46

The Indiana Fever star just signed a four-year, $6.3 million contract extension. Officially the richest total contract in WNBA history.

Kaari 9:02

Boston has dominated from day one. She earned Rookie of the Year, All-Star, and she became a franchise cornerstone for Indiana.

Kaari 9:12

She didn't just earn this payday, she helped set a new pay standard.

Kaari 9:17

And here's the part I really love.

Kaari 9:19

Boston reportedly even took slightly less than her full max up front in her first three years in the league, just so Indiana would have more money to build a stronger roster around her.

Kaari 9:31

Now Aliyah is being rewarded for her extraordinary level of play and for those early financial sacrifices.

Kaari 9:40

This deal is bigger than one player.

Kaari 9:42

It's about what happens when elite talent, league evolution, and actual market value finally start meeting in the same room.

Kaari 9:52

So this week's buzzer beater goes to Aaliyah Boston.

Kaari 9:56

Congratulations on your buzzer beater award.

Airball Award

Kaari 10:03

And now the Airball Award. 

Kaari 10:42

By now you've probably heard about this moment. A reporter asked Azzi about the status of her relationship with former UConn teammate Paige Bueckers.

Kaari 10:42

 Now some people on social media have said they think the quesiton was inappropriate.

Kaari 10:42

 But honestly? I don't fully agree.

Kaari 10:42

 A journalist's job is to ask questions.

Kaari 10:42

 And lots of people are probably wondering about this relationship.

Kaari 10:42

And unless the wings had clearly set boundaries beforehand, like "no personal relationship please, " that reporter wasn't breaking some kind of rule.

Kaari 10:53

It was a fair question.

Kaari 10:55

Now, whether Azzi wanted to answer — entirely her choice.

Kaari 11:01

But here's where things went sideways for me.

Kaari 11:04

Before Azzi could even respond, Dallas PR jumped in and shut it down.

Kaari 11:10

And that's the air ball.

Kaari 11:12

Because if you watch the clip, Azzi doesn't look incapable. She looks ready.

Kaari 11:17

Maybe she answers, maybe she says, "I'm not discussing that."

Kaari 11:20

Either way, let her handle it.

Kaari 11:23

This is Azzi Fudd, a UConn player, which means media pressure is basically part of the curriculum.

Kaari 11:30

Geno doesn't exactly send players into the spotlight unprepared.

Kaari 11:35

So stepping in that quickly didn't protect Azzi, it undermined her.

Kaari 11:42

It sent a message that Azzi couldn't handle the moment herself.

Kaari 11:46

That's just not cool.

Kaari 11:49

And that's why this week's Airball Award goes to the Dallas Wings PR team.

Flagrant Foul Award

Kaari 11:56

You know what that means. It's time for the Flagrant Foul Award. This week's Flagrant Foul goes to journalist and culture critic Dawn Montgomery for what felt less like a media critique and more like a "let's hate on Caitlin Clark" moment.

Kaari 12:14

After the WNBA announced that all 44 Indiana Fever games would be nationally televised this season, Montgomery took to social media and posted, "they ain't won shit, but will be viewed the most on television by y'all. I'm still not watching nor attending their games. Even when they play the dream, you're too for me choosing to do this."

Kaari 12:38

Now listen, you do not have to like Caitlin Clark.

Kaari 12:43

You do not have to root for the Fever.

Kaari 12:45

And nobody is requiring anyone to buy a ticket.

Kaari 12:50

But acting confused about why networks are televising Indiana?

Kaari 12:54

That's not a media analysis, that's ignoring basic business.

Kaari 13:00

TV networks air games based on one thing, viewership.

Kaari 13:06

And right now, Caitlin Clark and the Fever move numbers.

Kaari 13:11

Advertisers are not making emotional decisions, they're making money decisions.

Kaari 13:16

So whether people love the coverage, hate the coverage, or rage post through the coverage, the eyeballs are there.

Kaari 13:24

And here's the bigger issue.

Kaari 13:26

When women's sports are finally pulling massive national attention, leading with bitterness instead of bigger picture momentum, can feel like rooting against the very growth so many people have fought for.

Kaari 13:41

You can absolutely advocate for broader coverage across the league.

Kaari 13:45

More Aces, more Liberty, more Dream, more everybody.

Kaari 13:49

But "I won't watch because they get attention" energy?

Kaari 13:53

That's not expanding the conversation, that's shrinking it.

Conclusion

Kaari 13:57

So for turning a business reality into a public resentment campaign, this week's Flagrant Foul goes to Dawn Montgomery. I'm Kaari Peterson and you've been listening to her Game Her Voice.

Kaari 14:12

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Kaari 14:14

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Kaari 14:20

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Kaari 14:23

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Kaari 14:28

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Kaari 14:35

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