With Adia Barnes officially named as the next head coach at SMU, next season’s Arizona women’s basketball team is going to be virtually unrecognizable compared to this year. And with the change at the helm, two more players have decided to call different schools their home next season. On Saturday, guards Paulina Paris and Mailien Rolf entered the transfer portal.
Paulina Paris’ decision was first reported by Talia Goodman of On3.com, while X account Skim Milkey was the first to report Mailien Rolf’s decision.
Coming off a season-ending injury at North Carolina last season, the 5-foot-9 Paris was the only player to appear in all 33 games for the Wildcats this season, including 24 starts. She averaged 8.3 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.5 steals in 24.9 minutes per game. Paris shot 39.3 percent from the field, including 30.6 percent from the perimeter.
Her best game came against Seattle U, where she matched her career-high with 22 points and a career-best eight assists.
Mailien Rolf, the 5-foot-10 freshman from Germany, appeared in 31 games, including 14 starts this season, the most by a freshman. Rolf averaged 3.2 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game, while shooting 40.2 percent from the field. She also finished the season with 29 steals and six blocks, and while it didn’t always show up in the boxscore, her energy and hustle were among the best on the roster.
Paulina Paris and Mailien Rolf are the eighth and ninth players to enter the transfer portal this season for Arizona, joining Jada Williams, Breya Cunningham, Skylar Jones, Lauryn Swann, Katarina Knezevic, Jorynn Ross, and Ajae Yoakum.
In a statement released on Saturday, Arizona athletic director Desireé Reed-Francois announced that a search for the program’s next leader is already underway:
“On behalf of the University of Arizona community, I want to thank Adia for her nine seasons as our head coach and her profound impact on Arizona Women’s Basketball. She helped elevate our program and created lifetime memories for our student-athletes, coaches and fans. We wish Adia, Salvo, Matteo and Capri all the best in the future.
Our national search for a new head coach is already underway, and I am confident that our candidate pool will be strong. We have a championship history and a proud tradition; we have incredibly passionate fans and donors who want success; we have a strong commitment to basketball excellence and championships from our university and our department; we compete in one of the nation’s top conferences; and we have an unwavering desire to be great. I look forward to welcoming our new head coach!”