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Illinois basketball suffers third transfer portal departure of the offseason

The transfer portal continues to shape the college basketball landscape, and this Illinois freshman is another example of how powerful it can be.
ByKellen Sherman|
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Illinois coach Shauna Green yells to her team during the first half against Colorado in the first round of the NCAA college basketball tournament at Memorial Gym in Nashville, Tenn., Saturday, March 21, 2026.
Illinois coach Shauna Green yells to her team during the first half against Colorado in the first round of the NCAA college basketball tournament at Memorial Gym in Nashville, Tenn., Saturday, March 21, 2026. | ANDREW NELLES / THE TENNESSEAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The transfer portal is alive and well, and the women's Illinois basketball program has now felt its power for the third time in the past month.

Shauna Green has experienced a hit to the Illini depth in the frontcourt, as sophomore Hayven Smith and freshman Naomi Benson became the first two Illinois players to hit the portal within a week of each other.

Smith and Benson have the highest ceilings, which, unfortunately, were not hit in Champaign. But this past Wednesday, a third member of the Orange and Blue announced her intentions to test the waters of the transfer portal.

Erica Finney, a former four-star recruit from Sydney, Australia, was one of the top international players coming out of high school. The product of Cammeraygal High School ranked No. 14 at her position via 247Sports and is widely considered one of the best spot-shooters in her class.

Her freshman season was unfortunately cut short in 2025 after undergoing surgery for a season-ending injury. Finney will now look for her second team in two seasons, and somewhere where she can earn a much larger role.

Illinois' sharp-shooting freshman has every right to find a fresh start

It is always a somber feeling whenever a player decides to transfer to another school, especially before fans can get a chance to watch them play. Finney was supposed to be an elite long-range threat that Green could turn to to help spread the floor prior to her unfortunate injury.

Now, Finney will get the chance to find a fresh start for her career. She has proven that she can hang with the best of them, especially after averaging 12.9 points and 5.5 rebounds on 41.1% shooting from three-point range at the 2024 Australian National Championship.

It would have been nice to see her give Illinois another shot, but with the arrival of Divine Bourrage to go along with Aaliyah Guyton and Gretchen Dolan, it would be hard for Finney to find some playing time in Illinois' rotation.

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