Players Mentioned
C
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
C/F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
Power Forward of the Year Kiki Iriafen Joins USC Women’s Basketball As Grad Transfer
April 30, 2024 | Women's Basketball
Iriafen heads back to Los Angeles after three seasons at Stanford.
LOS ANGELES — The USC women's basketball team has a standout talent heading to Los Angeles with the signing of grad transfer Kiki Iriafen to join the Women of Troy for 2024-25, USC head coach Lindsay Gottlieb announced today (April 30). The winner of the Katrina McClain Award as the best power forward in the nation, Iriafen spent the previous three seasons at Stanford, where she also earned All-America Honorable Mention.
"Kiki is a next-level talent," Gottlieb said of the 6-foot-3 Iriafen. "An established star in women's college basketball already, she comes to USC looking to help us win at the highest level and to continue to expand her capabilities. She's a dynamic scorer and rebounder who will flourish in our style and with those around her. She is a magnetic personality who gets to come home and be special. The Galen Center crowd will want to have a front-row seat to support her in doing that."
Named the Pac-12 Most Improved Player of the Year this past season as a junior, the Los Angeles native was one of two players in the nation to average 19.0 points and 11.0 rebounds per game in 2023-24. She stood third in the conference in scoring and rebounding with 19.4 points and 11.0 rebounds per game, respectively. She was the only player in the nation to average 20.0 or more points and over 11.0 rebounds against ranked opponents as she helped Stanford win the Pac-12 regular-season championship and reach the 2024 NCAA Sweet Sixteen.
A 2021 graduate of nearby Harvard-Westlake, she was a 2021 McDonald's All-American and ranked as the No. 19 player in the nation when she signed on at Stanford. With the Cardinal, Iriafen earned 2022 Pac-12 All-Freshman Honorable Mention after appearing in 33 games during Stanford's run to the Pac-12 Tournament championship and on to an appearance in the 2022 NCAA Final Four. Iriafen also competed at the 2022 USA Basketball Women's 3x3 National Championship, reaching the semifinals of that event.
She'd start 27 games for Stanford as a sophomore, averaging 6.7 points and 3.8 rebounds per game as the Cardinal reached the NCAA Second Round in 2023. Her starring role at Stanford as a junior saw her step up as a full-time starter this past season, earning WBCA and AP All-America Honorable Mention along with the Katrina McClain Award as well as a spot on the 2024 NCAA Portland Regional 4 All-Tournament Team. Iriafen is completing her undergraduate degree in design engineering at Stanford and will pursue a master's degree at USC.
Iriafen joins a USC team coming off its first NCAA Elite Eight run since 1994 and having won its second Pac-12 Tournament championship. She becomes one of eight McDonald's All-Americans for USC's 2024-25 roster, joining returning Trojans JuJu Watkins, Rayah Marshall, Clarice Akunwafo and Aaliyah Gayles with that distinction along with three members of USC's top-ranked incoming freshman class — Kayleigh Heckel, Avery Howell and Kennedy Smith.
"Kiki is a next-level talent," Gottlieb said of the 6-foot-3 Iriafen. "An established star in women's college basketball already, she comes to USC looking to help us win at the highest level and to continue to expand her capabilities. She's a dynamic scorer and rebounder who will flourish in our style and with those around her. She is a magnetic personality who gets to come home and be special. The Galen Center crowd will want to have a front-row seat to support her in doing that."
Named the Pac-12 Most Improved Player of the Year this past season as a junior, the Los Angeles native was one of two players in the nation to average 19.0 points and 11.0 rebounds per game in 2023-24. She stood third in the conference in scoring and rebounding with 19.4 points and 11.0 rebounds per game, respectively. She was the only player in the nation to average 20.0 or more points and over 11.0 rebounds against ranked opponents as she helped Stanford win the Pac-12 regular-season championship and reach the 2024 NCAA Sweet Sixteen.
A 2021 graduate of nearby Harvard-Westlake, she was a 2021 McDonald's All-American and ranked as the No. 19 player in the nation when she signed on at Stanford. With the Cardinal, Iriafen earned 2022 Pac-12 All-Freshman Honorable Mention after appearing in 33 games during Stanford's run to the Pac-12 Tournament championship and on to an appearance in the 2022 NCAA Final Four. Iriafen also competed at the 2022 USA Basketball Women's 3x3 National Championship, reaching the semifinals of that event.
She'd start 27 games for Stanford as a sophomore, averaging 6.7 points and 3.8 rebounds per game as the Cardinal reached the NCAA Second Round in 2023. Her starring role at Stanford as a junior saw her step up as a full-time starter this past season, earning WBCA and AP All-America Honorable Mention along with the Katrina McClain Award as well as a spot on the 2024 NCAA Portland Regional 4 All-Tournament Team. Iriafen is completing her undergraduate degree in design engineering at Stanford and will pursue a master's degree at USC.
Iriafen joins a USC team coming off its first NCAA Elite Eight run since 1994 and having won its second Pac-12 Tournament championship. She becomes one of eight McDonald's All-Americans for USC's 2024-25 roster, joining returning Trojans JuJu Watkins, Rayah Marshall, Clarice Akunwafo and Aaliyah Gayles with that distinction along with three members of USC's top-ranked incoming freshman class — Kayleigh Heckel, Avery Howell and Kennedy Smith.
Women's Basketball Head Coach Lindsay Gottlieb Media Availability 9/18/25
Thursday, September 18
USC WBB's Lindsay Gottlieb, Rayah Marshall and Talia von Oelhoffen | Trojan Press Conference
Monday, March 31
USC WBB heads to the Elite 8, defeats Kansas State in Sweet 16 | Rapid Reaction
Saturday, March 29
Kennedy Smith on USC WBB heading to the Elite Eight, Trojan freshmen getting the job done
Saturday, March 29
