Three days after the Mississippi State women’s basketball season ended with a blowout loss at USC in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, a pair of freshmen became the first two Bulldogs players to enter the transfer portal.

Shakira Edwards appeared in 11 games for MSU as a guard, most recently on Jan. 23 against Auburn. She played a season-high 12 minutes in early December at Chicago State, when she had eight points, two rebounds and a steal. Edwards scored four points in the season opener against Memphis, finishing the year with 12 points, five rebounds, five assists and three blocks in 49 total minutes.

Anaisha Carriere, a 6-foot, 2-inch wing, played just 17 total minutes across 10 games. She scored four points in the final game before Southeastern Conference play against South Carolina State and finished the season with eight points and two rebounds — both offensive boards in the first game of the year against Memphis.

That leaves Tahj-Monet Bloom, who missed the entire season with a torn ACL, as the only remaining member of head coach Sam Purcell’s 2024 incoming class. Rocío Jiménez was a redshirt freshman this year after reclassifying, but has not yet seen the court in a game due to injury.

 

Russell joins Clary, Nwoko in portal

On the men’s side, redshirt sophomore guard Martavious Russell became the third Bulldog in the portal, joining Kanye Clary and Michael Nwoko. Russell is from Coker, Alabama — near Tuscaloosa — and appeared in 11 games this past season, scoring 24 points in 55 minutes. He had seven points in nine minutes in the SEC Tournament opening round against LSU.

Like Edwards and Carriere, Russell seems likely to land at a mid-major program where he can carve out a larger role. He has two years of eligibility remaining.