WEST LAFAYETTE −Katie Gearlds and staff continue to build a roster they hope can return Purdue women's basketball to prominence.
The latest additions bolster the Boilermaker backcourt with North Texas transfer Aysia Proctor and Montenegro product Jelena Bulajic, a transfer from South Florida.
Proctor played two seasons at Texas-San Antonio, where she was a starter as a freshman and a key reserve as a sophomore before transferring to North Texas. She started the final 21 games for the Mean Green, and played 32 total, leading the team with 14.1 points per game and earning second team American Conference honors while shooting 39.3% from 3-point range.
Bulajic started two games for the Bulls as a true freshman last season and averaged 4.7 points in 31 games overall. She comes with international experience, competing with for the Montenegro Senior National Team in the 2025 FIBA Women’s EuroBasket Qualifiers before joining South Florida.
More: Purdue women's basketball 2026 transfer portal updates
They join recent portal additions guard Hannah Wickstrom (UC Riverside) and forward Averi Aaron (Louisiana Tech) as Purdue newcomers for 2026-27.
Purdue returnees include redshirt junior guard Taylor Henderson, sophomore center Avery Gordon, senior forward Saige Stahl and senior guard McKenna Layden.
With an incoming freshman class of guard Keona Douwstra, Maya Zilbershlag and Katarina Sediva, the roster currently stands at 11, though not yet finalized as Purdue continues to seek additional portal help.
Coming off a 13-17 season, Purdue has suffered three straight seasons with a losing record, its longest stretch since seven straight from 1978-79 through 1984-85. Since then, the Boilermakers had ended a season with a losing record just twice, with three Final Four appearances and a 1999 national championship, prior to the last three seasons.
Athletic director Mike Bobinski said in a roundtable interview with media members in January that Purdue's women's basketball program was at a disadvantage during the NIL era, citing a lack of funds from donors for the program. During the same sit down, Bobinski also pledged that he would supply "very adequate resources" towards women's basketball from Purdue's revenue share dollars.
Gearlds enters her sixth season as Purdue head coach and posted consecutive winning seasons in her first two years, including an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2023. The Boilermakers are a combined 38-55 since that NCAA appearance.
Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at sking@jconline.com and follow him on X and Instagram @samueltking.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Purdue women's basketball adds two new transfers