While the bulk of the movement in the NCAA's transfer portal is between other American programs, there's an annual group that also transfers to U SPORTS in Canada. Here's a look at that movement this offseason.
While the NCAA transfer portal draws attention each summer as players change programs, often jumping from smaller programs to national contenders. There is, however, a smaller number of players who make the move each summer from the NCAA to Canada's U SPORTS.
This season there were 40 former NCAA Division 1 players competing in U SPORTS.
At the national championships, there were several notable former NCAA players in competition like Waterloo's Katina Duscio who spent three seasons at St. Lawrence before joining her hometown university where she scored 19 points in 25 games from the Warriors' blueline this season. She was joined on Waterloo by Sarah Hirst and Ashlyn Kroes who each spent three seasons at Merrimack before joining U SPORTS this season.
The University of Ottawa is another program that entered the national championships this season bolstered by multiple NCAA alumnae in Alexa Pongo (UConn and Merrimack), Alex Ferguson (Merrimack), Rebecca Morissette (Clarkson), and TJ Flores (Robert Morris).
Next season, another wave are headed from the NCAA to U SPORTS as well.
The University of Guelph, another Ontario based participant in the U SPORTS national championships this season will gain Georgia Sambrano who is transferring from Colgate, and Hannah Dods, who joins from Lindenwood. Both come to Guelph after two seasons of NCAA hockey.
The other three players making the switch are doing so after their rookie seasons in the NCAA with Paige Smith moving from Bemidji State to MacEwan, Daniella Martorana going from Merrimack to the University of Alberta, and Hannah Arnold jumping from St. Cloud State to St. Francis Xavier.