Ashley Owusu announces on social media she is leaving Maryland

“I have never started anything I haven’t finished, and finishing was the plan when I decided to come to College Park,” Owusu said in a statement posted on her Twitter and Instagram accounts. “My goal was to have a great career here and to win a national championship alongside an amazing team. I could picture my jersey in the rafters at Xfinity Center.

“Unfortunately, events that have transpired on and off the court this year have led me to make the very difficult but necessary decision to continue my education and basketball career elsewhere. I want to thank The University of Maryland, my teammates, and Terp Nation for accepting me and supporting me for the past the past three seasons. I ask that you please respect my privacy and pray for me and my family as I place my name in the transfer portal.”

Owusu’s impending departure from Maryland is a big blow to the Terrapins. They finished 13-4 in a loaded Big Ten conference and ended the season only a half-game behind Ohio State in their bid to win a regular season conference championship. She has been a top-three scorer for Maryland in each of the past three seasons.

Owusu was ESPN’s 10th-ranked prospect coming out of high school and reportedly picked Maryland over Connecticut, Penn State, South Carolina, and West Virginia. South Carolina’s Destini Henderson, who scored 26 points for the Gamecocks in their win over UConn in the national championship this past week, is graduating this spring, leaving a hole in the backcourt. South Carolina could be an option for Owusu, even with the arrival of five-star recruit Talaysia Cooper coming into the fold. Penn State is also showing early interest, one source tells The Next.

As for Maryland, the Terrapins have four-star recruit Mila Reynolds, the 60th ranked prospect on ESPN’s recruitment rankings, as a possible replacement for Owusu, along with standout rising sophomore Shyanne Sellers. However, they might opt to see who is enters the transfer portal this summer with a roster ready to compete now. Maryland still has high-end talent to turn to next season in Angel Reese and Diamond Miller, both who were respectively the leading and third-leading scorers for the Terrapins this past year.

Reese shared a story on her Instagram supporting Owusu with the caption, “MY DAWG!! LOVE YOU MAN.” Miller did the same with a similar caption, “MY DAWG (for life).”

Sophomore Taisiya Kozlova also announced today she is leaving Maryland to enter the transfer portal. She averaged 1.3 points in 10.3 minutes per game this season and played in 21 games.

Maryland did not immediately respond to The Next‘s request for comment.

Howard Megdal contributed reporting to this story.