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Villanova star Lucy Olsen enters the transfer portal

Olsen was third in the country with 23.3 points per game. She took a leading role in the Wildcats' offense after Maddy Siegrist graduated and left for the WNBA.

Lucy Olsen of Villanova in action against Virginia Commonwealth in a first round WBIT game on March 21, 2024 at the Finneran Pavilion at Villanova University.
Lucy Olsen of Villanova in action against Virginia Commonwealth in a first round WBIT game on March 21, 2024 at the Finneran Pavilion at Villanova University.Read moreCharles Fox / Staff Photographer
    by Colin Beazley
    Published 

Star Villanova guard Lucy Olsen entered the transfer portal on Tuesday. While Olsen, a junior, could return to Villanova, her leaving would be a huge blow to a program looking to stay near the top of the Big East.

Talia Goodman of The Next was first to report the news.

Olsen, who’s from Collegeville and is a Spring-Ford High graduate, was the third-leading scorer in Division I. Her 23.3 points per game trailed only Iowa’s Caitlin Clark (31.6 ppg) and Southern Cal freshman JuJu Watkins (27.1). She stepped in after Maddy Siegrist graduated and left for the WNBA, and increased her scoring from 12.4 points per game in 2022-23. Olsen led Villanova (22-13) in points, assists, minutes, and steals as the Wildcats narrowly missed the NCAA Tournament but advanced to the WBIT final.

She was named Big East most improved player and was an All-Big East first-teamer and honorable mention All-American.

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The decision comes as somewhat of a surprise. Olsen has a remarkable amount of freedom in Villanova’s system, as she orchestrates the offense and takes more than 20 shots per game. Villanova’s NIL collective, Friends of Nova, is well-positioned to pay her among the top players in the Big East. Siegrist also showed a path from the Main Line to the WNBA exists, as she was selected No. 3 overall by the Dallas Wings last April.

However, Villanova is not one of the top teams in women’s college basketball, and Olsen likely believes she has a better chance at competing for an NCAA title and on capitalizing on her own play (NIL and WNBA-wise) elsewhere. Clark (1.8 million) and Watkins (703,000) both have significantly bigger social media followings than Olsen (7,000, all on Instagram). A larger school would allow Olsen to maximize her marketability.

Rumors about Olsen transferring surfaced Monday evening. Since then, Friends of Nova and Villanova basketball general manager Baker Dunleavy have been vocal on social media, encouraging fans to donate to the collective. Friends of Nova’s message, posted on X, read in part, “Nova Nation, we need your support to keep Villanova competitive in this new era of college athletics!”

Olsen will have no shortage of suitors in the transfer portal, as a 5-foot-9 point guard with her scoring and passing ability will be coveted. She likely won’t have to carry as heavy a scoring burden if she chooses to go elsewhere, but that’s not expected to be a deciding factor for her.

As for Villanova, if Olsen moves on, coach Denise Dillon will have to replace the player her team was built around. Olsen’s scoring average was a full 15 points higher than the next player, forward Christina Dalce (8.3 ppg). Freshman guard Maddie Webber scored 7.7 points per game and was named to the Big East all-freshman team but would need to make a massive leap to even partially replace Olsen.

It’s a major loss for Villanova, which will look significantly different without her.

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    Colin Beazley