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Washington G Hannah Stines enters transfer portal after NCAA ruling
- Story byHuskies Wire
- Washington G Hannah Stines enters transfer portal after NCAA ruling
Hannah Stines is looking to play a fifth season of college basketball.
It may or may not be at Washington, which has three roster spots open, because Stines has utilized a recent NCAA injunction to enter the transfer portal.
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Stines officially entered the portal on Thursday in the wake of a Colorado ruling that class of 2022 athletes are allowed to participate in a fifth year of athletic competition after the NCAA changed their eligibility rules to the 5-in-5 model that allows class of 2023 athletes and younger to play five seasons of competition in five years. Stines was named in a similar California suit that seems to have reached a similar result, considering she is now eligible.
This is the same ruling that has recently allowed Huskies football players Ta'ita'i Uiagalelei and Grady Gross to return to Montlake and play a fifth season. A new ruling published Wednesday in a Louisiana court, however, has now granted those class of 2022 athletes the ability to enter the transfer portal even though it would otherwise be closed. That ruling has also opened the extra year of eligibility to class of 2022 athletes who have signed professional contracts, like Jack Pyburn of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Dae'Quan Wright of the Cleveland Browns.
But that ruling doesn't just affect football. Stines signed a contract with AB Contern, a basketball team in Luxembourg, on June 9. AB Contern's regular season does not start until mid-September, however, so it appears Stines has now turned down that opportunity to return to the United States and play college basketball for one more season.
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Washington may or may not have a spot for her. The Huskies used 14 of their maximum 15 roster spots in 2025-26 and only have 12 committed to the roster for 2026-27, but Washington might have a 13th player if a waiver for center Yulia Grabovskaia was approved after it was submitted in April. (There has been no reported news on Grabovskaia's status since.) The Huskies have also added five guards since Stines graduated alongside Elle Ladine and Teagan Brown: freshman Amayah Garcia, transfers Macey Huard, Brooke Carlson, and Kaelyn Carroll, and Hungarian international Petra Toman. So there's no guarantee Stines would be able to come back to Washington and reclaim her role as a starter averaging 6.8 points (fifth on the team) and 4.3 rebounds.
Put all of this together, and you get to the bottom of why Stines is now in the transfer portal evaluating her options. She's not the only one, either: On3's Talia Goodman has compiled a list of nearly 50 women's basketball players who are looking to use these recent rulings to return for a fifth year of eligibility. Two of those, Kentucky's Josie Gilvin and Xavier's Savannah White, have already found new homes in the transfer portal. Gilvin is headed to Western Kentucky, while White will face the Huskies this season as part of Penn State's team.
This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: Washington G Hannah Stines enters transfer portal after NCAA ruling
