Meet the six new Washington Huskies

SEATTLE — The Washington Huskies women’s basketball team is coming off their most successful season in nearly a decade — a 22-11 record (10-8 in Big Ten play) and narrowly missing the NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen after an overtime loss to TCU. But five players from that team, including three starters, graduated and/or ran out of eligibility.

So entering this season, head coach Tina Langley had to find a way to replace a class of players she had built the last four years of consistency and success around. To add to the impressive remaining core featuring senior guard Sayvia Sellers, junior guard Avery Howell — both of whom were named to the Naismith Trophy Player of the Year 50-player preseason watchlist — and forward Brynn McGaughy, Langley turned to the transfer portal.

Having already secured the commitment of freshman guard Amayah ‘Sunshine’ Garcia, Langley added five players from the transfer portal: Tilda Trygger, Kaelyn Carroll, Brooke Carlson, Macey Huard and Petra Toman.

First, let’s break down Washington’s six new players individually.

Tilda Trygger

Trygger is probably the most widely recognizable transfer that Washington landed ahead of this season. The 6’6 Swedish center had been a standout for the past two seasons on consistently tournament-bound North Carolina State teams.

Last season, as a sophomore, she averaged 10.6 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.0 blocks per game. Her rebound and block numbers were each 10th best in the ACC as she shot 51.8% from the field and 33.9% from deep. This wasn’t a surprise after a strong first season that landed her on the ACC All-Freshman team as she led the Wolfpack with a 52% field goal percentage.

Internationally, she has consistently featured for the Swedish youth teams, including helping lead Sweden to the 2025 FIBA U20 EuroBasket semifinals for the first time in the country’s history.

Her talent is well recognized in the U.S. as she was recently named to the Lisa Leslie Center of the Year Award 20-player preseason watchlist for a second consecutive year.

The addition of a top-tier center like Trygger is particularly important because the Husky frontcourt has lacked depth in recent years. Washington had been more guard-heavy, struggling to match the size of some teams and often utilizing undersized four-guard lineups. Trygger can stretch the floor with her shooting while also providing flexibility with different matchups in the post as the tallest Husky.

Trygger told The IX Sports that she chose to transfer because, in talking to Langley and exploring the opportunity in Washington, she felt really wanted. She wanted to play for Langley and the other Husky coaches and with her now teammates. Trygger knew the frontcourt situation and the opportunity it could present her but said her decision had more to do with the people she plays with.

“I have great people and teammates around me right now and it’s just so fun to be on the court with them,” Trygger said. “Of course they’re great basketball players, but just great humans honestly. And we take care of each other and we support each other. … It’s just a bunch of energy. Like, imagine having all your best friends with you every day.”

A self-described happy and giggly person, Trygger aims to bring joy to her team, fans and everyone around her, while continuing to do a little bit of everything on the court.

Kaelyn Carroll

The youngest of the transfers, the 6’3 sophomore forward Carroll comes to Washington after just one season at Kentucky.

The 2025 McDonald’s All-American joined the Wildcats as a five-star high school recruit and the No. 15 player in the nation per ESPNW’s rankings. However, at Kentucky, she played a relatively reduced role on the veteran-laden team that relied heavily on its upperclassmen. Still, she averaged 3.4 points and 2.2 rebounds in 11.9 minutes per game while shooting 35% from the field and 30.9% from three. She appeared off the bench in 34 games as her team finished 25-11 in the Sweet 16.

Carroll told The IX Sports she felt like she had one specific role at Kentucky, being a shooter, and she wanted to expand her game more. Then, talking to Langley about her plan for her and the team, she wanted to be a big part of that.

Alongside Trygger, she enters a relatively open position group. Langley thinks Carroll’s particular combination of skill and length will make her a difficult matchup.

Carroll’s move to Washington is reminiscent of Howell’s transfer from USC last season. Howell similarly cited wanting to expand her game as a reason for transferring after entering her freshman season as a top recruit. Carroll has similar potential to be a foundational player Washington acquired in the portal.

With that comes pressure on Carroll, but she said she feels more excitement and curiosity to get better and be the best player she can be. The sophomore thinks Washington can help her reach her potential because of “the way we all love each other on and off the court and share the ball.”

Always bringing excitement and energy, Carroll will continue to be a shooter but also lean into her versatility as she has been working on being bigger and stronger in the paint.

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Brooke Carlson

Carlson joins the Huskies from outside the Power Four conferences as a 5’8 junior guard from Colorado State, where she was a key player.

As a sophomore, Carlson was the Rams’ second-leading scorer at 11.7 points per game on 42% shooting and led the team with 3.1 assists per game. She particularly shone in tournament play. The guard earned Mountain West All-Tournament Team honors after averaging 17 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists over the conference tournament. And although CSU played just one NCAA Tournament game, she scored an impressive career- and game-high 26 points in the tight 62-65 loss to Michigan State.

Carlson told The IX Sports that many factors went into her decision to leave Colorado, but choosing to join Washington came down to the culture.

“The culture you could feel immediately coming on campus,” Carlson said. “What they’re building with all the people they’re bringing in and all the returners that they already had was something really cool and I wanted to be a part of. And I just thought it was going to be like a really fun [place to] finish out my college career.”

She is still figuring out her role on this team and how it will differ from CSU, but she isn’t concerned because she will play whatever role helps the team win.

Defense will likely be a big part of that role, though, since one of the Huskies’ best perimeter defenders, Hannah Stines, graduated, and defense is one of Carlson’s strengths and passions. Carlson racked up 91 steals through her first two collegiate seasons.

“I love defense,” Carlson smiled. “I just feel like any way you can bring energy to the people around you is just like getting on the floor, picking up [full court], or anything like that. So I feel like defense can translate to so much in the game, and that’s a really fun part for me to do. So I feel like if I could step up in that area, I would love to do that. … I’m an energy person. I like to dive on the floor, take charges, do those types of energy plays to get people excited.”

That’s part of what appealed to Langley about Carlson, as she praised her “feel for the game” and how “she competes on both ends of the floor and comes into the gym every day hungry to learn and improve.”

Offensively, Carlson said she is always trying to take what the defense gives her, whether that’s scoring or assisting. When she does go herself, however, Carleson admitted she prefers driving to the hoop and getting downhill.

Three-point shooting is not her go-to, but she wants to be able to hit her open opportunities. As she shot just 25% from deep last season, Carlson said she has been putting in the work to improve her long-range shooting and is excited about it.

Macey Huard

Huard, a 6’2 redshirt senior, is a big guard with valuable experience playing multiple positions. She started her collegiate career at Montana State playing alongside her sister Haley Huard. After her freshman year, she transferred to Oklahoma State, where she spent the past two years. However, she still has two years of eligibility left after medically redshirting last year.

Huard told The IX Sports she is feeling great now and playing with no restrictions; the injury timing was just really unfortunate. She said her foot injury was misdiagnosed a few times before they figured out right around the start of the season that it was an “Achilles bone spur” that required surgery to shave the bone down. The required recovery time meant she missed the entire season.

Before the injury, Huard had a strong debut season with the Cowgirls. In 2024-25, Huard averaged 6.4 points and 3.5 rebounds per game as a reserve. She shot 39.5% from the field, 32.3% from 3-point range, and 83.9% on free throws. Huard even had a historic first game, recording a 31-point, 10-rebound double-double, the most points scored by a Cowgirl in their debut. Her stats were similar as a Grizzlies freshman, when she averaged 7.4 points and 2.9 rebounds while shooting 36.1% from deep.

Despite finding success with the top program, Huard thinks she was just a shooter at Oklahoma State. Huard said she wanted to expand her offensive role and game as a whole, and Washington provided the opportunity to do different things. She is ready to bring energy, 3-point shooting, defense and rebounding. The guard also fell in love with the coaches on her visit and “the way they care and love us all and want to develop every one of us.”

Beyond the basketball court, the move to Montlake is a particularly personal one for Huard, who feels like she is returning home because both her parents competed for the Huskies.

Dad Brock played quarterback for UW football before professional stints with the Seattle Seahawks and Indianapolis Colts, and now hosts the Seattle-based Brock and Salk radio show. Mom Molly, competing under her maiden name Hills, played for UW WBB from 1995-1999 and helped the Huskies make two trips to the NCAA Tournament. Uncle Damon Huard played Husky football and is now the program’s director of community relations and fundraising. Aunt Heidi Hills played Husky basketball from 1992-1995.

“It is a legacy with both my parents and so much extended family and … to walk the same sidewalks that my parents walked and play in the same gym that my mom played in, it’s huge, and I’m just really grateful and blessed to be here,” Huard said.

Petra Toman

The 21-year-old, 6’2 guard, Toman, is unique in this transfer class as the lone player coming directly from overseas. Having lived and played in Hungary the rest of her life, this is Toman’s first time in the U.S.

Toman is a consistent presence for Hungary at youth international tournaments and most recently played for DVTK HUNTHERM in Hungary A Division and Euroleague Women. This season she averaged 8.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 0.8 blocks per game while shooting 38.3% from three in the Hungarian league. In 14 2026 Euroleague Women games, she averaged 3.4 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists.

Based on her age and the level she played overseas, the NCAA granted Toman two years of eligibility. She practiced with Washington in the offseason assuming that would happen, but she didn’t know for sure she would be granted any eligibility at all until a few weeks ago. 

“It was hard, but I think what motivated me is the love of the team and the basketball,” Toman told The IX Sports. “I knew it was a possibility, but I believed so much because I wanted it so bad. And I think I got a lot of help during the whole process, so it worked out.”

Langley said Toman brings a sense of calm to the team, and she sees the game at a high level because she grew up in the European system.

Toman said that moving across the world has been a big change, and the culture is very different, but it is what she wanted to experience. She wanted to join Washington because of the team environment that is focused on improving “ourselves, the team, being better persons, better players, and to prepare for life.” Additionally, education is important to Toman, and the U.S. college system allows her to do both, something that is much harder to do in Europe.

Despite the big change, Toman feels good about the adjustment. It helped that two sisters were already playing Division I basketball in the U.S., Dora at Tulsa and Reka at Missouri. Toman said they helped make things easier by giving her a deeper look inside the system and information about what to expect, even if her own experience won’t be exactly the same. Plus, Toman has enjoyed how organized Washington is in helping players manage school and sport at the same time.

“There is no question that they can’t answer, and they are always there for us. There is nothing we can’t solve together,” Toman said.

Feeling so far like Washington’s style of play is similar to what she’s used to, expect Toman to shoot often from long range, bring a high IQ on both sides of the ball, be there for her teammates, and “just try to enjoy the game, like every second of it.”

Amayah ‘Sunshine’ Garcia

Garcia, a 5’11 guard from Fort Worth, Texas, is the only Husky freshman this season but has the opportunity to make an immediate impact. A standout for Faith Family Academy and Southwest Select on the Adidas 3SSB Circuit, the four-star recruit was ranked No. 46 in the 2026 SportsCenter NEXT 100 and ranked as the 10th-best shooting guard in the 2026 class by 247 Sports. 

“Sunshine has an incredibly high basketball IQ, and she plays with great pace, strength and toughness on both ends. She understands how to manipulate defenses to create opportunities for herself and her teammates,” Langley said.

Garcia received many offers from the best schools in the nation but told The IX Sports she chose Washington because “it was just different” from the moment she stepped foot on campus.

“The love that I felt, even my family, my parents, they all felt included. It was just a great environment,” Garcia said. “I wanted to go somewhere with a good culture, and I feel like Coach Tina is trying to really build that here. So that was the main part that went into my decision.”

Despite being the only freshman, Garcia feels welcome and included in everything, which has helped her adjust to the different level. She said it is definitely faster-paced, but she overall feels like she’s been adjusting well.

Alongside her on-court skills, Garcia brings her sunny personality to Washington. Though her nickname ‘Sunshine’ came from her dad always posting on Facebook about his sunshines, her being little sunshine and her older sister big sunshine, it caught on from there as she feels like it embodies who she is. “To the family, I’m little Sunshine. To the rest of the world, I’m just Sunshine.”

The new, old look

Despite half the team being brand new to the program, these players don’t change the core tenets Langley has built around since she was hired. In fact, they were chosen because of their commitment to upholding the culture of the program Langley solidified with her first Husky recruiting class — the graduates. Across the group’s varying skill sets, they all have key attributes in common.

“They’re coachable, they’re humble, and they love to work. They want to learn, they want to compete, and they pour into their teammates every single day,” Langley said. “Every one of them is here because they’re about the right things, and we’re so grateful for the families who have trusted us with them.”

It is still an adjustment to get so many players on the same page. Figuring out everyone’s best roles will likely be a season-long project. But the six newcomers agree that, so far, getting to know their new system and teammates has felt easy. They face the same difficulties as any transfers or freshmen, and know there will be hard times and a learning curve, but feel like it is as easy as it could be.

Carlson praised the returning players in particular for leading the way with their communication. Others agreed it is also helpful to have multiple teammates in the same new situation.

“I think going through learning a whole new system with a bunch of new players is helpful, kind of learning from each other and going over plays together,” Huard said. “The coaches are just so hungry to develop each one of us and get us to be the best players we can be, but at the same time create the best culture and team dynamic. I’ve never been at a school where they can pair those two so well together.”

The team will also benefit from the players becoming fast friends. Trygger said the chemistry has developed really fast, but trust is built over time — something they are building every day. “I think we’re on a really good way to building a great team.”

Perhaps the most exciting aspect of this group of newcomers is how it sets the team up for this season and the future because they all have at least two years of eligibility remaining. The goal is the same as every team: to win the whole thing. But they are not getting ahead of themselves.

“I think we can achieve big things, but it starts on Monday; that’s where we’ve got to focus right now,” Trygger said of the team’s potential. “We can always have hopes and all this, how the season is going to end, or how far are we going to go? But I think we’re locked in right now. What’s going to happen tomorrow in practice? What’s going to happen in this next game? I think that’s where we’re at right now.”