Source familiar with the situation tells @TheNextHoops that the reigning Ivy League Player of the Year, Princeton SR guard Kaitlyn Chen, has entered the transfer portal as a grad transfer for 2024-25. She will finish her Ivy eligibility in 2023-24 but have 1 year left elsewhere.

— Jenn Hatfield (she/her) (@jennhatfield1) September 11, 2023

Averaged 16.2ppg, 3.8 apg (1.33 AST/TO), 4.1rpg, 0.462 FG%, 0.265 3PT%, 0.72 FT%, 33.9mpg in 30 games (29 starts) last year '22-23her 2nd year playing at Princeton which was academically her junior year (due to Ivy League skipping the COVID season entirely).

5'9" guard from Flintridge Prep, San Marino, CA

https://goprincetontigers.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/kaitlyn-chen/20674

Saw her play on TV in the Ivy League Tournament Championship game last season going up against Harvard and McKenzie Forbes. Great game for both players. Forbes is now at U$C as a grad transfer, reuniting with Lindsay Gottlieb.

She was recruited by Cal but opted for Princeton so hopefully, Charmin already has rapport with her. Fingers crossed.

I'm speculating that Kaitlyn Chen would like to return to her home state of California. Cal hopefully gets a visit. Cal has to be attractive to her academically. GO BEARS!

Schroeder71 said:

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I'm speculating that Kaitlyn Chen would like to return to her home state of California. Cal hopefully gets a visit. Cal has to be attractive to her academically. GO BEARS!

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It almost makes too much sense to me. Hopefully things fall into place with this one.

Biggest competition will come from UCLA and USC, since her hometown of San Marino is close to Pasadena. Win that recruiting contest, and it will be impressive.

Perhaps she will make her choice based on what graduate program she's interested in? I mean academic choices still matter don't they?….sometimes?

CalWSportsFan said:

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Perhaps she will make her choice based on what graduate program she's interested in? I mean academic choices still matter don't they?….sometimes?

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A key point ...

If she wants to continue in basketball or sports in general, she will not go to Cal.

If her career goals align with a strong grad program at Cal, then she would certainly consider it. So ...

Do athletes get preferred admission into specific and conceivably highly competitive grad programs?

Top grad transfers with only one year of eligibility have most often gone where they can play at a high level and win something significant at the end of their careers. They can then continue their grad studies wherever they want after that if they have the grades. It is hard to be a serious grad student and still play basketball and do the related travel. We are also about to see a big reduction in grad transfers with the end of the extra Covid year of eligibility.

USC has four grad transfers coming in this year. In addition to Forbes from Harvard, they have two other All-Ivy League grad transfers from Penn and Columbia. Looks like they are all in the Masters of Entrepreneurship Program at SC, which can be completed in one year or spread out over more time than that. This program is also meant to accommodate working professionals, and has evening and on-line coursework opportunities. So basically you come in for a year, get a somewhat meaningful degree, most likely enjoy being in multiple rounds of the NCAA tournament, and then move on with your life, However, again, this is likely the last year with large numbers of grad transfers given the end of the Covid waivers.

Just read another interesting comment from a UCLA fan about Charisma Osborne's decision to stay for a fifth year with the Bruins instead of going to the WNBA. They said it is expected that she will be able to make more money from NIL and staying in college in LA for another year than the average salary paid to a first-round professional pick. Plus, she will get to fly charter.

Where did California stack up in her original prep recruitment. It seems that I recall she was attracted to the California academic offering. Perhaps she now will consider the Cal degree desirable unfinished business.

ClayK said:

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CalWSportsFan said:

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Perhaps she will make her choice based on what graduate program she's interested in? I mean academic choices still matter don't they?….sometimes?

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A key point ...

If she wants to continue in basketball or sports in general, she will not go to Cal.

If her career goals align with a strong grad program at Cal, then she would certainly consider it. So ...

Do athletes get preferred admission into specific and conceivably highly competitive grad programs?

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Ivy Leagues don't offer 5th year opportunities, so this wasn't a "let me get my basketball resume expanded" transfer necessarily. And obviously she made an academic decision out of HS...Cal is held in very high regard in the general San Marino area (I grew up right near there), but Princeton is Princeton...I wasn't willing to go across the continent out of HS...but the world was a bigger place then.

But I get it-doesn't mean she isn't going to choose a more competitive basketball program as her first and foremost priority...but we aren't talking about a WNBA Draft pick here, are we? And I know you don't see Charmin and Cal as a good basketball opportunity, but with Cal, she is going to play against ACC programs for a year, while getting a great educational experience.
She is coming from Princeton, where she would have been granted very little "preferred" status in the first place. So, unless her college academics went totally downhill, she is more than likely in a position to compete with those trying to get into Cal grad programs.

A career in basketball or athletics does not mean the WNBA ... that's only for the elite.

But a player at her level can definitely get a nice gig overseas, with $150,000+ and a European experience. Her options would be greater if she has a good year at a place like UCLA or Baylor rather than Cal.

In addition, a career in sports could mean coaching at the collegiate level, which again is enhanced by a resume that includes postseason success as a player, or with shoe or apparel companies.

Of course, she still may come to Cal, for many reasons, and many players do, But it is not the most attractive option in some regards.

ClayK said:

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A career in basketball or athletics does not mean the WNBA ... that's only for the elite.

But a player at her level can definitely get a nice gig overseas, with $150,000+ and a European experience. Her options would be greater if she has a good year at a place like UCLA or Baylor rather than Cal.

In addition, a career in sports could mean coaching at the collegiate level, which again is enhanced by a resume that includes postseason success as a player, or with shoe or apparel companies.

Of course, she still may come to Cal, for many reasons, and many players do, But it is not the most attractive option in some regards.

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So, you have reason to believe that a good year at Cal might go unnoticed, or at least given less weight by the overseas outlets? Is there a former Cal player that you think of when you cite this?

Even though there may be some truth to his comments, he rarely has anything positive to say about Cal Women's Basketball.

WC Bear said:

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Even though there may be some truth to his comments, he rarely has anything positive to say about Cal Women's Basketball.

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There isn't much positive to say until there are some positive performance numbers. Unfortunately, the numbers from the past four years have all been negative. But maybe that will change this year.

+1

WC Bear said:

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Even though there may be some truth to his comments, he rarely has anything positive to say about Cal Women's Basketball.

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I'm happy to hear those "truths"!
The scouts looking for good players are really going to miss someone playing against the great competition of the Pac-12, or, in upcoming years, the ACC? At a minimum, Cal is playing Furd twice a year...I mean, eyes have to be on them right?
If I have this all wrong, I am happy to be educated....(hint: I might get information from places beyond posts on this board)...

I just talked to a college coach last night at our open gym. She played six years overseas.

She said, among other things, a lot of signings are about perception. A player from a highly successful school will get a longer look than one from a less successful school. At the same time, playing for a school that allows you to put up big numbers as opposed to being a role player -- mid-major vs. P4 -- can also help.

So if a player comes to Cal and scores a lot of points, her stock will go up. But her stock would also go up scoring a lot of points at UC Irvine, though obviously not as much.

Starting for a team in the Elite 8 will generate an even bigger contract, in most cases.