Ole Miss women’s basketball coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin looked like she had built one of the best transfer portal classes in the country. Adding players like Talysia Cooper from Tennessee and Jada Richard from LSU, paired with a few key returners, made it feel like the Rebels were setting up for an even bigger season.
That outlook changed in a hurry.
The news broke late Monday and slipped under the radar with baseball and spring football dominating attention. But Sira Thienou entering the transfer portal at the last minute is a real problem for Ole Miss.
BREAKING: Ole Miss’ Sira Thienou plans to enter the transfer portal, she told @On3.
The 6-1 sophomore averaged 9.7 ppg, 5.7 rpg and 1.7 spg this season.
TRACKER: https://t.co/wYv1Ze6704 pic.twitter.com/bdomfZWylM
— Talia Goodman (@TaliaGoodmanWBB) April 21, 2026
On3’s Talia Goodman reported the move just hours before the window closed. And suddenly the April 1 announcement of Thienou returning looks a lot more like an April Fools joke than a roster update.
Ole Miss lost most of its roster from this past season, but it still had a handful of important returners. The most important was Thienou.
McPhee-McCuin made that clear earlier this month.
“We already had our meeting with Sira for next year,” she said. “That is one of the things we talked about. Talking about two Coties (McMahon), how about two Sira’s? She’s going to be that one. She knows that. She will be ready to step into that. She has blossomed so much in the little time. She’s only a sophomore. She’s way ahead of any of my sophomores that I’ve ever coached going into her junior campaign. This young lady was out for a month and came back and just played with so much heart and we really missed her.
“Really excited about her having a great offseason and building her. The goal is to build around Sira so that we can continue to move on and even be better in the future.”
We saw her value when she missed the final weeks of the regular season. Ole Miss dropped four straight games and lost its chance to host an NCAA Regional. Then she returned for the NCAA tournament and immediately reminded everyone why she mattered. She scored 30 points in two games, grabbed 13 rebounds, blocked four shots and added four steals.
Across the 2025-26 season, she averaged 9.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists. She also recorded 48 steals and became one of the most versatile defenders in the SEC. That followed a freshman year where she made the SEC All-Freshman Team.
Yes, Ole Miss has a strong transfer class coming in. Yes, the Rebels should still be competitive and in the mix to host a regional.
But losing Thienou is a massive blow to that goal.
Ole Miss Basketball Transfer Portal Tracker
Men
Outgoing
- Augusto Cassiá, F, 6-8, Jr. (UTEP)
- Corey Chest, F, 6-8, So.
- Hobert Grayson IV, G, 6-4, Sr.
- Eduardo Klafke, G, 6-5, So. (Butler)
- Koren Johnson, G, 6-2, Jr.
- Tylis Jordan, F, 6-9, Fr. (Georgia Tech)
- Travis Perry, G, 6-1, So. (Dayton)
Incoming
- Christian Brown, F, 6-8, Fr. (James Madison)
- Adam Clark, G, 5-10, Jr. (Seton Hall)
- ND Okafor, F, 6-7, Jr. (Washington State)
- Roman Siulepa, F, 6-6, Fr. (Pittsburgh)
Women
Outgoing
- J’Adore Young, 6-4, C, Soph.
- Sira Thinenou, 6-1, F, Soph.
- Tianna Thompson, 5-10, G, Soph. (Baylor)
Incoming
- Maya Anderson, 6-1, G/F, So. (San Jose State)
- Jaida Civil, 6-0, G, Fr. (Tennessee)
- Talaysia Cooper, 6-0, G, Jr. (Tennessee)
- Knisha Godfrey, 5-9, G, Sr. (Florida)
- Emily Howard, 6-5, C, Jr. (Boise State)
- Rachael Okokoh, 6-4, C, Fr. (Penn State)
- Jada Richard, 5-7, G, So. (LSU)
- Doneelah Washington, 6-1, F, Jr. (Illinois State)
