On Saturday, April 25, University of Miami transfer guard Simone Pelish announced her commitment to Villanova women’s basketball on her Instagram.
During the 2025-26 season, Pelish appeared in 12 games for the Hurricanes.
In those 12 appearances, the New York native shot a team-high of 53.8% from 13 attempts, made 66.7% of her shots at the free throw line and dropped a season-high nine points against FAU.
Pelish redshirted the 2024-25 season at Miami.
At Our Lady of Lourdes High School, Pelish totaled over 1.500 high school career points and was named NY Upstate player of the year three times. Pelish was a four-star recruit per ESPNW HoopGurlz.
Women’s basketball alum and Dallas Wings forward Maddy Siegrist also attended the Our Lady of Lourdes High School. Siegrist shared on her Instagram story a picture of her and Pelish, captioning the image “Full circle.”
Pelish now joins junior Anna Foley as the Wildcats’ second addition from the transfer portal.
Incoming freshman Alexis Eberz is also set to join the roster this fall.
Having lost only one player, freshman guard MD Ntambue, to the transfer portal, the Wildcats are set to retain key players like sophomore guard Jasmine Boscoe, junior forward Brynn McCurry and junior guard Kelsey Joens.
The NCAA women’s basketball portal closed on April 20. However, players who entered the portal and remain uncommitted are still eligible to commit to a new team.