In the period of 56 days, Gracie Merkle transferred from Penn State to Maryland and back to Penn State.
Yes, really.
Well, classify or.
Merkle, a 6 -foot 6 -inch red shirt junior center, entered the transfer portal on March 25 with a contact label. Despite playing for the worst team at Big Ten, the Nittany Lions had 1-17 in the conference game the minimum last season was a very requested transfer after averaging 15.5 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. She was the fourth national as a percentage of field goals, which made 67 percent of her shots with her soft touch around the edge.
On April 5, he announced on his Instagram that he was committing to Maryland, complete with a graph that presents it in a Terrapins shirt “with the subtitle” Go Terps. “Merkle became a key construction block of one of the strongest transfer portal classes gathered this low season, since Terps coach Brenda Forese also obtained commitments from the MVP Tournament from the ACC Oluchi Okuchi Tournament of Duke and Indiana’s Yarden.
Merkle has just recorded a video for the social channels of the Terps, saying the “excited” that was to join the team. He added in a statement issued by Maryland on April 8 that said: “I chose Maryland due to the winning culture. I developed a belief in the coaching staff and a relationship with the players as soon as I have reached the campus. For for for I am searching for for for for I am looking for for for for for i basting for for for i basting for for i basting for for i
As a result, the statement, the press release, the video, the graph, the photo shoot, the publications on social networks: everything was a waste of time.
Because Merkle is not going to play basketball at Maryland University.
He retreated Monday night and announced that, in fact, he stays in Penn State.
“Twist plot! After a lot of thought, prayer and communication with my family, I have a leg released from UMD according to my request,” Merkle wrote on Instagram. “I am very grateful for the opportunity, but I have decided to return to the University of Penn State. As always, I appreciate all love and support.”
So how did this happen? How did a player transferred to a new school and then retired a month later?
SB Nation spoke with some coaches, agents and other sources around female university basketball to better understand the system and circumstances.
So who is Gracie Merkle?
She is a good University Center for Mount Washington, Kentucky. She was the university career at the level of medium largest in Bellarmine, where 14.6 points and 10.6 rebounds extended as a true first -year student and occupied the second place at the national level in a percentage of shooting with a mark of 70.1 percent. It was also 16th at the national level in rebounds per game and won the rookie award of the year of Asun.
After staying out of his second season due to an injury, Merkle was transferred to Penn State, where he continued to present similar numbers against hard competition in the Big Ten. While the Nittany Lions had problems, going 10-19, Merkle had a solid season and was a selection of honorary mention of all Big-Big.
There were not many real post players on the portal this year, so Merkle was coveted as some who could score in the paint, bounce and protect the edge at a high level.
In early April, he signed with Maryland.
What did Merkle sign?
Merkle signed something commonly known as a financial agreement, confirmed a source, which is what all transfers are asked when they go to a new school.
The point is that these financial agreements are a bit different from what high school recruits used to sign when they committed to universities, a letter of national intention. NLIS no longer exists, although after the NCAA they eliminated them in October, ending the program that was in 1964.
A NLI was a formal and binding agreement between a player and the program he chose to attend. They were difficult to leave.
The new financial agreements are anything but that. Lagoons are easy to exploit.
A Power 4 assistant coach expressed it in this way: “He can leave a financial agreement at any time whenever he has not stepped on the campus and has begun to get help … These are basically verbal commitments.”
The NLI was eliminated since the NCA anticipates more changes in the camera settlement, which will pave the way for schools to share income directly with players.
An agent referred to financial agreements such as “Justo Mous” or comprehension memorandes, another form of a non -binding agreement.
“The financial aid agreement basically does not mean anything until physically attending a class,” said another Power 4 assistant coach.
A source familiar with the Merkle situation confirmed to SB Nation, apart from its duration of the visit, its recruitment, never went up to the campus and never enrolled in clarege Park classes.
But is the transfer portal not closed? How did Merkle return to Penn State?
In fact, the transfer portal is closed. But Merkle never had to enter the portal again because he never left it. He did not start exercising with Maryland, did not attend classes there and did not receive financial help.
And once a player enters the transfer portal, they are technically in it for the season. When a player signs a financial agreement with a new school, the portal will show that, but the player will still exist on the portal.
A veteran coach summarized it in this way: “Since she entered the 2024-25 season, even if she signed and meant so much on the portal, she is still there … If I open the portal at this time and I looked at that she signed Tulwiley, I still listed.
This real already happened at the female university basketball doors in this cycle of the portal. Kaitlyn Duhon de Auburn, a solid defender who averaged 4.9 points per game for his career, signed with Texas A&M on April 1. Weekly announced that he would return to Auburn.
Last year, the Kadyn Proctor football player transferred from Alabama to Iowa, but less than two months later he returned to Alabama before participating in a practice with the Hawkeyes.
“It’s very strange how everything works,” another coach told SB Nation.
What does this mean for Maryland and Penn State?
Merkle would probably accumulate the titular center of the Terps next season, especially after the game of Allie Kubek, a 6 -foot and 2 -inch striker who entered the portal and transferred to the state of Florida after the arrivals of Merkle, Garzon and Okananwa were.
The Terps still have a solid list capable of making a deep -March madness race, but Garzon is now his highest list player with 6 -inch feet, and it is in the best case when he can play along the navigated wings to spend most of her time in the rat. Brenda Freee has played small ball alignments in recent years, but having a true formidable publication like Merkle would have been a luxury.
In addition to Merkle’s return, Penn State added the dynamic guard of Rutgers, Kiyomi McMiller, through the portal. An former Jordan All-American brand averaged 18.7 points as a true first-year student for the Scarlet Knights. Because or several banks, suspensions and other circumstances, McMiller only played at 21 or 33 games for Rutgers this season.
The Big Ten has not yet established its female basketball calendar for the 2025-26 season, but the meeting between Maryland and Penn State will be one to surround the calendar.
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