Indiana women’s basketball received its fourth transfer portal addition of the offseason, as former USC junior guard Malia Samuels committed to the Hoosiers on Wednesday, according to an X post from On3’s Talia Goodman. Samuels spent her first three collegiate seasons with the Trojans.
The 5-foot-6 Samuels averaged 3.4 points, 2.4 assists and 2.6 rebounds with USC during the 2025-26 season. She appeared in 30 of the Trojans’ 32 total games this season and started in 19.
USC finished the season with an 18-14 overall record and 9-9 mark in Big Ten play. Its season ended in the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a loss to the eventual national champion runner-up University of South Carolina.
Samuels notched a season-high four steals in USC’s 79-73 win over Indiana on Feb. 12. She played 20 minutes in that contest, recording six points, four rebounds and three assists.
In her sophomore year, Samuels was a key piece off the bench for USC. She appeared in all 35 contests, making just one start and averaging 12.5 minutes per contest.
The Hoosiers lost six players to the transfer portal: three guards — sophomores Phoenix Stotijn and Chloe Spreen and freshman Nevaeh Caffey — and three forwards — juniors Edessa Noyan and Jade Ondineme and sophomore Faith Wiseman. Senior guards Shay Ciezki and Jerni Kiaku exhausted their eligibility.
With eight players departing from Indiana, Samuels will join former Iowa State University redshirt junior forward Alisa Williams, redshirt junior guard Kenzie Hare and former Nebraska junior forward Jessica Petrie.
The Hoosiers will also bring in the No. 8-ranked recruiting class, according to ESPN. The class includes No. 25 wing Addison Nyemchek, No. 29 guard Gigi Battle, No. 66 guard Ashlinn James and four-star center Zoe Jackson.
Follow reporters Savannah Slone (@savrivers06 and srslone@iu.edu) and Max Schneider (maxschn@iu.edu) and columnist Sean McAvoy (@sean_mc07 and semcavoy@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana women’s basketball offseason.
