Rutgers Women's Basketball lands Purdue transfer guard Tara Daye
Rutgers Women’s Basketball is bringing another New Jersey native home in the transfer portal.
The Scarlet Knights have landed a commitment from former Purdue guard Tara Daye, she announced. A native of Newark, NJ, Daye will head to her fourth school in five seasons of college basketball, after previously spending time at DePaul and St. John’s.
Daye averaged a career-high 12.4 points and 6.5 rebounds per game — both team-highs — in her lone year as a Boilermaker, including a solid performance against Rutgers this past season.
She represents the seventh incoming transfer in head coach Gary Redus II‘s first offseason at the helm. Daye committed after a visit last week, the second of her three portal visits. She first visited Syracuse, then the Scarlet Knights, and finished at Florida.
Daye’s background
Daye was a three-sport standout at University High School (NJ) in Newark, playing basketball, volleyball, and running track. She scored 1,129 career points as the Phoenix won back-to-back Group 1 state titles in her first two years. They dominated in Daye’s four years, with a 91-13 total record. She also earned Second Team All-State honors in volleyball, and won the sectional title in the 400 meters in track and field.
She then did a postgrad year at Blair Academy, as the Buccaneers went 14-4 in her lone season, and was named valedictorian.
Following her prep career, Daye spent her freshman season with the Blue Demons. In 27 games — one start — she averaged 1.9 points and 2.3 rebounds in 11.9 minutes per game in the 2022-23 campaign. She earned Big East Freshman of the Week honors in February, after back-to-back strong performances, in a ten-point, seven-rebound performance against Creighton, followed by 12 assists in her lone start of the season against Xavier.
Daye opted to transfer after the season but stayed within the conference, arriving with the Red Storm. She spent two years in Queens, seeing her role progress as her tenure went along. She finished the 2023-24 season averaging 4.2 points and 3.5 rebounds per game while starting 19 games. St. John’s made it to the second round of the inagural WBIT.
The 5-foot-10 guard was entrenched as a returning starter for her junior season, but suffered a season-ending injury after four games, though retained her redshirt.
Daye transferred again after the season and ended up at Purdue in the Big Ten. She performed at her best as a Boilermaker, leading the team in points and rebounds, and joined Madison Layden-Zay as one of two players to start every game they appeared in. Daye scored double-digit points in 21 of her 25 games, including a 15-point, five-rebound output against the Scarlet Knights in February.
She announced her intent to transfer following the season in April, and committed to Rutgers on _.
On the court
Daye has always found her footing scoring inside the three-point line throughout her college career, and broke through at Purdue as the Boilermakers’ top performer on the offensive end. She led the team with a 23.8 percent usage rate — 25th in the Big Ten — and registered a 104 offensive rating, according to Bart Torvik.
Almost 60 percent of her field goal attempts came at the rim, finishing at a 58.7 percent clip. Just 28.4 percent of her shots at the basket were assisted, meaning she was able to create plenty of her own looks getting downhill towards the rim.
She also flashed her three-point range for the first time in her collegiate career. Daye made 15 three-pointers last season — after coming into the year with a career 5-for-24 mark from beyond the arc — on 44 attempts, good for a 34 percent clip. Nine of those 15 three-pointers were assisted, meaning she mixed both spot-up and self-created looks from the perimeter.
Daye has also proven to be a plus defender and rebounder throughout her collegiate career, recording a positive defensive box plus/minus in all three full seasons, according to Torvik’s metrics. She was one of the better rebounding guards in the Big Ten, finishing fifth among guards in defensive rebounding rate while leading Purdue with over six per game.
Returning to the Garden State, Daye will likely compete for a starting role in a rebuilt Rutgers backcourt, joining twins Mia and Mya Pauldo as incoming transfer guards. Rising junior Lauryn Swann also returns after a full year in the rotation, giving the Scarlet Knights some solid backcourt depth.
Rutgers has one open scholarship remaining after Daye’s commitment.
Rutgers Women’s Basketball Roster Breakdown
Guards: Deja Young (one year), Kennedy Brandt (one year), Lauryn Swann (two years), Mia Pauldo (three years), Mya Pauldo (three years), Chikae Desdunes (four years)
Wings: Tara Daye (one year), Zachara Perkins (two years), Jaylah Lampley (three years)
Forwards: Imani Lester (one year), Zennia Thomas (one year), Fatima Diakhate (one year), PreciousGem Wheeler (three years), Mary Akinde (three years)
Transfer Portal Tracker
| TRANSFERS OUT | DESTINATION | TRANSFERS IN | FORMER SCHOOL |
| Antonia Bates | Georgia Tech | Mia Pauldo | Tennessee |
| Nene Ndiaye | Oklahoma State | Mya Pauldo | Tennessee |
| Makylah Moore | N/A | Jaylah Lampley | Mississippi State |
| Yacine Ndiaye | N/A | Mary Akinde | Barton CC (KS) |
| Janae Walker | N/A | Zennia Thomas | Howard |
| Fatima Diakhate | Pittsburgh | ||
| Tara Daye | Purdue |
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