With the West Virginia Mountaineers coming off their third consecutive second round appearance in the NCAA Tournament and the spotlight of hosting during the opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament, Mark Kellogg is looking to reload his roster entering his fourth season at the helm in Morgantown.
The Mountaineers have lost three players to the transfer portal in Loghan Johnson, Jordan Thomas and Carter McCray, with two of those losses coming in the post. And with Celia Riviere and Kierra Wheeler out of eligibility, WVU is in serious need of big bodies – and even what they had last season was no match for Kentucky's length in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Skylar Forbes, Khyala Ngodu among biggest offseason additions for WVU women's basketball
The Mountaineers have made moves address those gaps, though, such as adding 6-foot-3 forward Skylar Forbes from Marquette on Thursday – bolstering the team with more starting post experience after an earlier addition this offseason in 6-foot-3 center Khyala Ngodu from UCF. In both players, it feels like the Mountaineers may have even upgraded what was already a strong inside game last season.
Forbes has made 59 appearances and 54 starts over the past two seasons for Marquette, averaging 15.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks per game for the Golden Eagles. Ngodu, meanwhile, made 27 appearance and 24 starts with the Knights last year, averaging 10.0 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game – she put up 21 points and nine rebounds in a game against WVU this past season.
Both players will presumably start for the Mountaineers, and each adds two inches in height compared to the team's starters in the post last season, which will be crucial give the team's struggles against taller post players in the NCAA Tournament. They both also bring Power 5 starting experience, meaning they've been in a similar position before to what is expected of them now.
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