Before the women’s basketball transfer portal closed on Wednesday night, James Madison saw one departure as freshman guard entered her name in the portal, according to On3.com.
Molnarova, a native of Slovakia, had previously played for a top-level professional club in Hungary. During her freshman season with the Dukes, she appeared in 13 games, averaging 0.5 points. Despite limited playing time, she showed significant potential in international competition.
Molnarova’s arrival at JMU was delayed by an extensive process to get her NCAA clearance. By the time she joined the team, the Dukes had already completed their summer practices, and she didn’t break into the regular playing rotation before suffering an ankle injury late in the season.
In an interview earlier this offseason, head coach Sean O’Regan expressed his expectation that Molnarova would return for her sophomore season, but her departure from the team suggests that won’t be the case.
“She had a minor injury to end the year,” O’Regan said. “I had a conversation with her and she’s all in with this. She’s one of the better kids I’ve ever coached as far as her attitude. If you take 10 minutes to shoot with her, she’s saying thank you 14 times. You talk about versatility, she’s got that and she can make shots.”
It seems that James Madison made it through the transfer portal without losing any major contributors from last season. Key players such as Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year Peyton McDaniel, third-team all-conference forward Ashanti Barnes, and guards Zakiya Stephenson and Bree Robinson are all expected to return.
McDaniel, who had an impressive season averaging 16 points and 8.3 rebounds per game, earned JMU’s second Sun Belt Player of the Year award in just three years. She joined former teammate Kiki Jefferson, who won the honor in 2023. If McDaniel returns, she would become the first SBC Player of the Year to come back to the conference after winning the award—Arkansas State’s Aundrea Gamble is the only player to do so, earning the honor three times from 2014 to 2016.
However, the Dukes will lose some key veterans, as centers Ksyusha Kozlova and Anna Goodman, along with guards Jamia Hazell and Ro Scott, all ran out of eligibility after the 2024-25 season. Despite these departures, JMU’s core group of returning players will give them a solid foundation heading into the next season.
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