Pitt received a new transfer in USC guard Bella Perkins on Thursday, as she announced her transfer on Instagram.
Perkins played two seasons for the Trojans from 2021-23, playing in 35 games and starting six, averaging 2.9 points, 0.8 assists and 11.7 minutes per game. Perkins only played in 10 games last session, with most of her playing time coming in her first season in 2021-22, playing in 25 games with those six starts.
She is a 5-foot-9 guard who works best with the ball in her hands with the ability to work as a point guard. She hails from Fairfax, Va. and played for powerhouse Paul VI Catholic High School in Chantilly, Va. Perkins will arrive at Pitt as a junior with two years left of eligibility.
Perkins is the third player to transfer to Pitt in the past two days and the second guard to transfer under new head coach Tory Verdi. JUCO guard Mia Simpson out of Morton College and forward Seton Hall forward Jala Jordan both announced their transfers to Pitt on Wednesday.
Perkins, Simpson and Jordan arrive at an important time for the Panthers, as Verdi is trying to build his team up with just four returning players and two recruits coming in. Nine players have left the program this offseason following the dismissal of head coach Lance White and Class of 2023 recruit Hannah Mills-Watson decommitted, making it 10.
The additions of the three transfers, the four returning players and the two incoming recruits makes it nine players on the roster for the 2023-24 season.
Here is the Pitt Roster listed for the upcoming 2023-24 season and also the departures from the program below it.
2023-24 Pitt Roster + eligibility
Guards
Junior Mia Simpson: two years (Morton College (JUCO))
Junior Bella Perkins: two years (USC)
Sophomore Marley Washenitz: three years
Sophomore Aislin Malcolm: three years
First-year Jasmine Timmerson: four years
Forwards
Graduate Jala Jordan: one year (Seton Hall)
Senior Gabby Hutcherson: two years
Senior Liatu King: two years
First-year Lauren Rust: four years
Pitt Transfers/Decommits
Guard
Graduate Dayshanette Harris: one year (Clemson)
Graduate Emy Hayford: one year (Fordham)
Graduate Destiny Strother: one year (Niagara)
Senior Sandrine Clesca: two years (Monmouth)
Senior Taisha Exanor: two years (Monmouth)
Sophomore Avery “Ace” Strickland: three years (Tennessee)
Forward
Graduate forward Amber Brown: one year (St. John’s)
Redshirt senior Cynthia Ezeja: two years (Loyola Marymount)
Junior Maliyah Johnson: two years (Houston)
First-year Hannah Watson: four years (Toronto Metropolitan)
