Former Penn State women’s basketball guard Leilani Kapinus has committed to transfer to Vanderbilt, she announced on Instagram Sunday. Kapinus became the third Lady Lion to find her destination out of the portal, following Ali Brigham and Shay Ciezki.

Kapinus averaged 11.5 points, 2.1 assists, and 6.8 rebounds per game in her junior year in Happy Valley. She’s fifth in steals in Penn State’s all-time record book and her defensive play often exemplified the style of head coach Carolyn Kieger. The Madison, Wisconsin, native was named to the Big Ten’s All-Defensive team after the 2023-24 regular season.

Four Lady Lions — Brigham, Ciezki, Kapinus, and Kylie Lavelle — have departed the team via the transfer portal this offseason. With the lone portal addition of Gracie Merkle, the Lady Lions have six scholarship players on their roster for next year.

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Joe Lister

Joe, shockingly, was Onward State's managing editor from 2024-25. It was an honor. He's off employed doing journalism things, hopefully. If you want to complain about anything he's ever written, you can find him on Twitter (iamjoelister), email (jlister2021@gmail.com), or Signal (iamjoelister.93).

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