To say that Marquette women’s basketball is undergoing a face-lift is an understatement.
With seven players out of eligibility after this season — Lee Volker, Jaidynn Mason, Olivia Porter, Kennedi Perkins, Bridget Utberg, Ayuen Akot and Abbey Cracknell — head coach Cara Consuegra was already going to have a much busier offseason than last year.
But, then the winds of the transfer portal came howling for the blue & gold and Marquette lost four more players, all of whom specialize in the post.
Now, as of the morning of April 7, Marquette has 10 open scholarship spots and only five projected players. It’s stark contrast from last season, when the Golden Eagles were the only Division I team in the country to return everyone from the year before.
Naismith Award preseason watchlist candidate Skylar Forbes, who entered the portal minutes after it opened on April 6, is the most significant departure for the Golden Eagles.
The Ontario, Canada native was named to the 2026 All-Big East first team for the second-straight year, along with the conference all-defensive team. Playing in 28 games, she averaged 15.5 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.8 blocks per game.
She was not just an inside scoring threat, but also one of Marquette’s top 3-point shooters, complementing Lee Volker, who was selected to compete in the Celsius women’s basketball 3-point championships this past weekend. Forbes shot 34.5% from beyond the arc and attempted the most total 3-point shots (139) on the entire Marquette roster.
Fellow Ontario, Canada native, Jada Bediako, hit the transfer portal as well on Monday after two seasons with MU. The 6-foot-3 forward spent her first year at Georgia Tech before becoming a Golden Eagle.
She played nearly 10 minutes per contest off the bench, competing in 26 outings while averaging 2.2 rebounds and 2.6 points per game.
Charia Smith spent four years at Marquette, sticking around under Cara Consuegra after Megan Duffy left in 2024. Smith suffered a torn ACL before her true sophomore season and received a medical redshirt. The Columbus, Ohio, native made six starts last year and played in the small and power forward positions during her time with the Golden Eagles.
Smith had in impact in close rematches as a veteran presence, tallying eight in the Butler rematch at Hinkle and nine in a pulse-pounding finish against DePaul, but she became the first Golden Eagle to announce her intentions to leave on March 22.
Aryelle Stevens, who followed Consuegra from Charlotte to Marquette, sustained a torn Achilles last summer, before her senior year at Marquette. She played in 16 games during her junior season in a relief role, but announced plans to transfer on March 30, wanting to spend her graduate year of eligibility elsewhere.
Where does Marquette go from here?
The loss of Forbes is massive for the Golden Eagles, but fellow all-Big East first team recipient and double-double machine Halle Vice announced on Instagram that she plans to stay in the blue & gold for her senior season.
Along with Vice, Marquette looks set to retain guards Jordan Meulemans, Kameron Herring and JJ Barnes.
Barnes, a Racine, Wis. native, redshirted the 2025-26 season due to a knee injury suffered in a preseason scrimmage, and Herring played only sporadic minutes, almost exclusively in garbage time. Also joining the blue & gold next year is incoming first-year Se’Crette Carter, who shot 38% from deep during her junior year of travel basketball on the Nike EYBL circuit.
In short, Golden Eagles have some emerging young talent, but experience and depth are seriously lacking.
The biggest priority for Consuegra is keeping the few returners they have.
After that, it is finding someone to complement Vice in the paint, given that Forbes and the rest of MU’s forwards hopped in the portal. Replenishing that depth in the post will be necessary to handle a grueling Big East slate next season with no bones about it.
Also important for the Golden Eagles is going to be a true point guard.
The absence of Porter for the final eight games of the regular season with a knee injury showcased how important she was to Marquette’s success. Without her, the Golden Eagles were stuck in the mud offensively, a rut they could escape from with a proven floor general. And, a veteran point guard might also be the answer to their season-long turnover issues.
Marquette is in desperate need of pure shooters, as well.
A graduating Volker led the team in 3-point percentage (42.3%) and makes (58), followed by Forbes (48). While Meulemans, the lone reliable perimeter option returning, was third, she had only 31 baskets from deep. MU improved its 3-point shooting significantly last season, and a true marksman is going to be key to ensuring that trend continues.
Consuegra does not only have players to replace, though. Assistant Chaia Meier was named the Bradley head coach on April 3, and Khadijah Rushdan quietly departed the team partway through the season.
With the transfer portal open until April 20, Consuegra has only two short weeks to plug Marquette’s many gaps.
This article was written by Mikey Severson. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter/X @MikeySeversonMU.
