Arkansas lands Kansas transfer Wyvette Mayberry; Seven former Razorbacks enter portal

BY DUDLEY E. DAWSON

FAYETTEVILLE – New Arkansas women’s head basketball coach Kelsi Musick got her first signee on Thursday and it is one with a familiar last name to Razorback fans.

Kansas point guard Wyvette Mayberry, daughter of former Arkansas All-American and NBA player Lee Mayberry, will play her final college season at Arkansas.

The 5-7 guard will wear 11, her dad’s old number.

“Adding Wyvette Mayberry to our roster as our very first signee is one of the best things we could have done to show the direction we are going in,” Musick said. “The pillars of our program are Faith, Family, and Fearless; Wyvette exemplifies all three of those things.

“She has shown fearless strength and competitiveness her entire career on and off the court. The faith she has in herself, our program, and our University is evident in her decision to spend her last season as a Razorback.”

Mayberry’s dad is the number three all-time leading scorer in Arkansas history.

“Lastly, her being the daughter of Razorback Hall of Famer, Lee Mayberry ties her family to our women’s basketball family,” Musick said. “I want Razorback Nation to know how important it is that we build the program with the right pieces, at the right time, the right way, and Yvette is the perfect addition to set the tone.

“We hit a home run with her and we are excited to have her home.”

Mayberry, who will be playing her sixth season, started her college career by playing two years at Tulsa before spending the last three seasons at Kansas.

Mayberry averaged 10.1 points, 2.6 assists and 2.3 assists at Kansas.

That included 9.7 points while starting all of the Jayhawks’ 32 games in the 2023-2024 season.

She helped lead Tulsa to the NCAA Tournament that season and a first-round victory of Michigan in which she had 15 points and 5 assists.

But her 2024-2025 season was cut short due to a knee injury suffered six games into the campaign.

She played her freshman high school season at Fayetteville High, her sophomore one at Watson Chapel and the last two prep years at Tulsa’s Booker T. Washington.

Mayberry is the first signee in what is a roster replenishment, a norm when there is a coaching change such as the one Arkansas just had with Mike Neighbors out after eight seasons.

Seven Razorbacks have entered the transfer portal in freshman guard Phoenix Stotijn, freshman forwards Vera Ojenuwa (signed with Georgia) and Pinja Paananen, sophomore guard Kiki Smith, sophomore forward Christina Sanchez Cirqueira and junior guards Carly Keats and Karley Johnson.

Neighbors signed thee players last November in Bonnie Deas (Australia), Aisha Salem Hassan (Egypt) and Harmonie Ware (Cleveland, Tenn.)

Musick, whose Oral Roberts University team finished eighth nationally in scoring last season at 83.2 points per game, had a clear idea of what kind of players she wants to round out the roster.

“I can’t just recruit saying ‘oh, that’s a good player,’ I also have to recruit to the system and that’s one thing I do a little bit different because I run he dribble drive,” Musick said.

“It’s important that I recruit players that fit those positions in order for it to really flow and for it to be able to be executed at the highest level.

“So making sure we recruit the players that fit the spots that we need, its a process right now. As we are retaining players, getting in the portal and getting players that fit the spots that we need and potentially keeping the signees that they already have.”

Portal additions are important right now, but Musick noted that she would like to build through the high school ranks even though she is unlikely to do this offseason.

“Ideally in the future, [we want to] have some quality high school kids that we can grow within the system,” Musick said. “Because it’s hard no matter what. When you’re a freshman and you make that jump, it’s just massive. Then making it to the SEC, that’s an even bigger jump.

“You can’t rely on all freshmen, but I think if you have some quality freshmen that you can grow, retain and help them learn the system, then by the time they grow up, they get to that junior, senior year, and man, they’re just really, really good.”

Geting portal players with more than one years of eligibility left would be a positive according to Musick.

“I think overall, in an ideal world, having that foundation of a couple of freshmen, having some portal kids, and then filling in the gaps is how to build the best roster,” Musick said. “Especially if you can get some of those players in the portal that might have more than one year and they’re willing to stay and commit, then you can really grow them in the system.”

Musick plans to have an up-tempo offense for fans to enjoy, Her team averaged shooting 68 field goals per game last season, which was also top 10 nationally.

“It is definitely transition and we want to get out and run,” Musick said. “Our goal is to average 80-plus points per game just like last year at ORU where we were in the top 10 in the nation in scoring. So that’s definitely a goal.”