Amari DeBerry announces a transfer to Maryland after three years at UConn

Amari DeBerry entered the transfer portal after three seasons with UConn women's basketball following the NCAA Tournament, and the former McDonald's All-American announced her commitment to Maryland on Sunday.

DeBerry was the No. 15 player in the class of 2021 and a McDonald's All-American, as well as being a two-time USA Basketball gold medalist. However, the 1.90 meter tall forward never found her footing with the Huskies and played an average of just over six minutes per game over the course of her career at Storrs. In the 2023-24 season, she reached a career low of 4.4 minutes per game and was sidelined for the final nine games of the season due to a concussion sustained in practice before the Big East Tournament.

At Maryland, DeBerry will reunite with her former classmate Saylor Poffenbarger, who signed with UConn in the 2021 class before transferring to Arkansas in January 2022. Poffenbarger, a native of Middletown, Maryland, entered the portal for the second time in March to join her home team. Terrapins coach Brend Frese also signed VCU point guard Sarah Te-Biasu, Rhode Island forward Maye Toure and Rutgers guard Kaylene Smikle from the portal in the last two weeks.

UConn completed a home-to-home series with an 80-48 win over Maryland in 2023. The matchup previously ran from 2012-13 and 2015-17 before being renewed again in 2022.

DeBerry was the first player to transfer from UConn since 2021-22, and sophomore defender Ines Bettencourt has also since entered the portal. Bettencourt, from Portugal, averaged 5.6 minutes per game last season and has not yet announced a signing.

The Huskies added their first transfer to the roster since Lou Lopez-Senechal in 2022 on Sunday, picking up a commitment from Princeton guard Kaitlyn Chen. Coached by former Husky Carla Berube at Princeton, Chen was one of the best point guards in the portal, having been named to the All-Ivy League first team twice in a row and named the conference tournament's top player three times in a row. She averaged 15.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and a career-high 4.9 assists per game during the 2023-24 season, while also shooting a career-best 48.8% from the field.