The Kansas women’s basketball team has added an accomplished junior-college player who may be able to help fill its vacancy in the post.
Freddie Wallace, a 6-foot-2 forward from Lincoln, Nebraska, who played the past two seasons at Butler Community College in El Dorado, announced her commitment to KU in a social media post on Tuesday, calling the school her “new home away from home.”
Wallace started all but one of the Grizzlies’ games during her two-year tenure at the school, averaging 17.8 points and 7.1 rebounds over the course of her career while playing just 27.1 minutes per game. She was a third-team NJCAA All-American as a freshman and was named to the second team as a sophomore, becoming just the second player in the history of the Butler program to earn two All-American selections.
In a home victory over Cowley on March 6, she became the Grizzlies’ all-time leading scorer.
The Jayhawks have long been searching to add a post player to their robust transfer class, although as head coach Brandon Schneider said on his “Hawk Talk” radio show in April, that can be a challenge that the KU staff considers analogous to finding a quarterback or a left tackle in football.
KU had previously added North Dakota State transfer Elle Evans, who is 6-foot-3 but also an adept player on the outside who shot 45.7% from deep during her sophomore season in 2023-24.
Together, and along with returnees like Nadira Eltayeb, who is coming off a season-ending Achilles injury, and Danai Papadopoulou, they will hope to account for the loss of center Taiyanna Jackson. The 6-foot-6 Jackson, who is the program’s all-time leader in blocks and averaged a double-double over the course of her KU career, graduated and was selected in the second round of the WNBA Draft (though she is currently a free agent).
The rest of the Jayhawks’ transfer class consists of Evans, Sania Copeland (Wisconsin), Brittany Harshaw (Creighton) and Jordan Webster (UC Riverside). Schneider signed a two-year extension last Wednesday that will keep him in Lawrence through the end of the 2027-28 season.
Butler sophomore forward Freddie Wallace shoots during a game against Cowley on Sunday, Jan. 21, 2024, in Arkansas City.
Butler Community College Athletics
Butler Community College Athletics