Mizzou welcomes pledge from Kentucky transfer Tyler; Judd enters transfer portal
Coach Kellie Harper’s Missouri Tigers women’s basketball team is welcoming a new player.
Mizzou on Wednesday added Kentucky transfer guard Saniah Tyler to Harper’s first roster at Mizzou. The news was reported first by On3’s Talia Goodman.
A junior, Tyler averaged 2.3 points and 1.2 rebounds, shooting 33.3% from the field and 36.4% from 3-point range in 2024-25. She appeared in 26 games off the bench for UK this past season.
For her three-year career with the Wildcats, she averaged 5.8 points on 33.8% shooting from the field and 34.6% shooting from beyond the arc, as well as 1.3 rebounds.
The addition of Tyler, a product of Incarnate Word Academy in Bel-Nor, Missouri, marks Harper’s first player commitment since her hire as the Tigers’ coach on March 18.
Tyler joins returning MU guards Grace Slaughter from Grain Valley, Abbey Schreacke, Averi Kroenke and Nikki Kerstein on the team’s 2025-26 roster. Hannah Linthacum and Rionna Herron are set to be the only frontcourt returners.
Harper has seven scholarship spots remaining to meet the new NCAA Division 15-player roster cap.
Missouri’s Ashton Judd enters transfer portal
Former Mizzou guard Ashton Judd entered the transfer portal Tuesday, according to On3’s Talia Goodman.
Judd started in 28 games this past season, averaging 11.6 points and 5.0 rebounds and 1.7 assists, shooting 39.5% from the field and 36.6% from 3.
In the Tigers’ 75-55 loss to Mississippi State in the first round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament on March 5, Judd reached the 1,000-point mark for her career
In three seasons with the Tigers, the West Plains product appeared in 94 games and started in 58 of those contests.
Judd was selected to the 2022-23 All-SEC freshman team, as she averaged 7.4 points shooting 46.1% from the field, 44.9% from deep and 79.5% from the free-throw line.
Judd finishes her Missouri career averaging 10.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.2 assists, shooting 42.4% from the field and 37.6% from 3-point range.
Harper adds 2 more to staff
In addition to the portal news, Mizzou announced two new members for Harper’s initial Tigers coaching staff.
Harper hired Haley Hall as the director of basketball operations and Michael Scruggs as an assistant coach Tuesday.
In a news release, Harper said she will work closely with Hall to help the program be organized and operate at the highest level.
Hall spent three seasons at Tennessee, and, this past campaign, she served as assistant director of operations.
Her first two seasons coincided with Harper’s time coaching the Lady Volunteers. Hall was the program director for two seasons before her promotion to assistant director of operations.
Before her time at Tennessee, Hall spent two seasons as an administration and compliance manager at Oklahoma. She graduated from Oklahoma in 2019 with a degree in business administration with an emphasis in sports management and accounting.
Scruggs is entering his 17th season as a coach.
He graduated from Tennessee with a degree in sports management in 2008. Scruggs worked as a student manager under legendary coach Pat Summitt.
Summitt coached Harper during her collegiate career, from 1995-98.
For the past two seasons, Scruggs worked as an assistant for Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets finished 22-11 last season after losing 74-49 to Richmond in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on March 21.
Before working at Georgia Tech, Scruggs spent four seasons with Purdue. The Boilermakers had three winning seasons along with two postseason appearances.
During his time at Purdue, Scruggs served as the recruiting coordinator. He landed the No. 21 recruiting class in 2023 and the 22nd-ranked recruiting class in 2021, per ESPNW HoopGurlz. He also helped recruit the 19th-ranked recruiting class in his first season, according to ESPNW.
His other coaching stops as an assistant were at Loyola Chicago, LSU, Cleveland State, Samford and Chattanooga.
Copyright 2025 Columbia Missourian
This story was originally published April 9, 2025 at 10:57 AM.