Frankly, i was surprised Kayleigh decided to transfer in the first place given who was leaving. This led me to think there might be a deeper problem at USC, maybe in Lindsay’s locker room. Or maybe she didn’t want to be on a rebuilding team. Or maybe she just wanted to be closer to home.
Her reason for transferring would probably indicate where she’s going and I’m sure we’ve all rehearsed these. ND or Vandy look attractive in some scenarios. UConn looks attractive in others. Taking a long time to announce may also be an indicator.
At UConn she has a decent shot at winning at least one NC, if that’s a motivation. But it probably means playing behind/with KK for two seasons, and the rest of the roster looks very crowded. There were rumors that USC’s lineup had two tiers and was not fully open to competition for minutes. This might make her wary to choose UConn unless she’s confident in Geno’s reputation for hard-nosed fairness. She looks like she relishes competition.
Bone Dog, a look at the minutes and games played seems to discount any rumours about USC's line-up not being open to competition for minutes, at least as it pertains to Kayleigh Heckel. She received quality minutes throughout the season and throughout the NCAA tournament.
That said, in three closely fought Big Ten tournament games, Heckel played sparingly in the first two and not at all in the championship loss to UCLA. 0-3 shooting, no assists, no rebounds and three turnovers in just nine minutes total. Maybe there was a back story there, but if so it should have been put to bed given her playing time and performance in all four games of the NCAAs.
Given the goofiness we have seen at ND and LSU, I acknowledge that there MIGHT have been issues in the locker room at USC. I say that not because of Kayleigh entering the portal, but because of Avery Howell (seemingly ahead of Kayleigh on the depth chart) also entering the portal. However, without any other indicators, I am not putting any stock in that theory.
IMO, Heckel's long-term competition for minutes at USC wouldn't be much different to her competition for minutes at UConn. At USC she would be looking at competing with a handful of HoopGurlz Top 100 guards even with Howell gone. Specifically, Kennedy Smith (#6), Rian Forestier (#54), Malia Samuels (#49 in 2023) and Jazzy Davidson (#1 in 2025). She is not replacing the 6'1 Smith, whose defense is exceptional, in the starting line-up. Since Kahleigh's stats were comparable to Samuels, the situation facing her is that
for one year only she will be competing with Samuels and Davidson for the remaining starting spot next to Smith, and then for the following two years after JuJu returns, she will be simply be competing for the role of the second guard off of the bench.
I tend to think that once Jazzy Davidson committed to USC, the folks in Kayleigh's orbit started advising her to begin looking at other options to develop her skills and broaden her BB horizons. Those discussions were underscored by Lindsey choosing to hand the ball to JuJu and work everything through her. With two #1 players on the court in two years and a coach looking to keep both of them happy, where would that leave Kayleigh? I would contend the same discussions were had in Avery Howell's inner circle.
The closing argument happened when another 5'9 transfer came into UConn, earned playing time and a starter's role while contributing to the Huskies' 12th national championship, and then went on to be selected in the WNBA draft. Time to come back east.
If Heckel returns to USC I will be stunned. Three years developing at UConn - whatever her role - is her best bet. Going to ND (for starter's playing time) or Vanderbilt (for playing time and development) could be second options for her, IMO.
