Villanova WBB Supplements Roster With Miami Transfer

Villanova Women’s Basketball managed to keep all but one of the players with eligibility remaining on their 2025-26 roster and, with key starters like Jasmine Bascoe, Kennedy Henry, Brynn McCurry and Kelsey Joens all back on the Main Line, the hard part of the offseason is already over for the Wildcats.

They filled one of the four remaining open spots on their roster on Saturday, April 25 when Miami Hurricanes transfer Simone Pelish, a rising redshirt sophomore with three seasons of eligibility remaining, announced her commitment to Villanova in an Instagram post. Pelish stands six feet tall and hails from Poughkeepsie, N.Y.: she played at the same high school as Wildcats’ all-time leading scorer Maddy Siegrist, Our Lady of Lourdes, and finished her high school career ahead of Siegrist as the program’s all-time leading scorer.

As such, she’s in excellent company… and given Siegrist’s continuing presence for Villanova amidst her busy WNBA career, the Wildcats almost certainly had a friend in high places helping Pelish choose where to transfer to. Siegrist commented “Cats !” on Pelish’s commitment post.

A four-star recruit out of high school, Pelish served as a backup on a Hurricanes team that made the second round of the WBIT. Appearing in 12 games for an average of 5.9 minutes, Pelish put up 2.3 points and 0.6 assists per game. She also spent time on the Hurricanes’ injury report.

Given the Wildcats’ returning talent, Pelish has a chance to join the rotation at guard, providing plus scoring off the bench as she continues to develop.