Welcome In Newcomers – vucommodores.com

Women's basketball has signed five high-level newcomers to gear up for the 2026-27 season
NASHVILLE, Tenn. –Vanderbilt women’s basketball announced the addition of five highly-touted additions to the 2026-27 roster on Wednesday, as the Dores welcome in transfers Vernell Atamah and Mia Woolfolk, along with incoming freshmen Jhai Johnson, Olivia Jones and Sther Ubaka.
After coming off its first Sweet 16 appearance in 17 seasons, Vanderbilt went out and inked its highest-ranked recruiting class under Ralph’s direction. ESPN has Vandy’s freshmen trio of Johnson, Jones and Ubaka listed as the 11th-best class in the nation, while 24/7 Sports has the Commodores at No. 16.
Additionally, the Dores brought in a pair of high-level NCAA Division I transfers. Woolfolk, who comes in after two seasons at Georgia, was ranked as the 15th-best transfer by ESPN. Atamah, who played two campaigns at Northwestern State, is the reigning Southland Conference Player of the Year and was named the SLC Freshman of the Year in 2024-25. Both come to Vanderbilt with two years of eligibility remaining.
With the addition of these five elite-level players, expectations for the 2026-27 season are high for the Vanderbilt women’s basketball team. The Commodores return seven players from last season’s Sweet 16 team, which includes All-American and SEC Player of the Year Mikayla Blakes and the 2025-26 SEC Freshman of the Year Aubrey Galvan. Vanderbilt was ranked No. 11 in ESPN’s Way Too-Early Top 25.
Fans can purchase their 2026-27 season tickets by clicking the link here.
Jhai Johnson | 6-4 | F | Oakland, Calif. | Oakland Technical High School
Johnson, a 4-star recruit, is a consensus top-100 recruit in the class of 2026 by every major women’s basketball recruiting outlet. The 6-4 forward ranks No. 35 nationally according to ESPN, and scouts give her a 95 grade.
A highly decorated prep player, Johnson was named a Jordan Brand All-American and was the 2025-26 Cal-Hi Sports Division 2 Player of the Year. The 6-4 forward scored 1,487 career points, pulled down 984 rebounds and blocked 192 shots at the high school level.
Johnson is a two-time Oakland Athletic League Most Valuable Player, having won the award in 2023-24 and 2024-25. Described as a walking double-double, the 6-4 forward collected 47 double-doubles and one triple-double at Oakland Tech. The triple-double came during her sophomore season, when Johnson had 22 rebounds, 19 points and 10 steals against rival Oakland High.
During her senior season at Oakland Tech High School, Johnson averaged 17.7 points per game and collected 15 double-doubles en route to being named the Cal-Hi Sports State Division 2 Player of the Year. The forward was outstanding in the 2026 CIF NorCal D2 playoffs, as she had three games with 20-plus rebounds, which included a 23-point, 20-rebound outing in the NorCal D2 title game. Johnson scored a career-high 42 points to go along with 22 rebounds and five steals. She was named the 2024-25 East Bay Player of the Year by the San Francisco Chronicle. During the 2022-23 season, she helped Oakland Tech to a CIF Division I state championship.
A multi-sport student-athlete, Johnson was also a standout for Oakland Tech in flag football and volleyball. She has been recognized as one of the premier high school athletes in the Bay Area.
Johnson played for the Sports Academy Swish U17 team in the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL). She delivered a memorable clutch performance at the Nike Nationals in July, as in the quarterfinals, she made a free throw to send the game into overtime, then tipped in an offensive rebound to win the game in the extra stanza. The forward was named the No. 1 player at the 2025 Nike Nationals by Cerebro Sports.
She is the daughter of Carla Justice and Josh Johnson. Her father has spent 10-plus seasons in the NFL as a quarterback and is currently on the Cincinnati Bengals roster. Johnson chose Vanderbilt over Southern Cal, NC State, Syracuse and Oregon.
Olivia Jones | 5-11 | G | Brookeville, N.Y. | Long Island Lutheran High School
Jones is a consensus 5-star recruit in the 2026 class, as every major recruiting outlet has her ranked inside the top 20 nationally. The 5-11 guard came in as the 14th-best player nationally in her class according to ESPN, while HoopGurlz gives her a ranking of 96 overall. Jones is ranked No. 16 nationally by On3, 247Sports and Prep Girls Hoops. She recently played in the 2026 McDonald’s All-American game.
Jones is the first 5-star recruit to sign with Vanderbilt out of high school since Mikayla Blakes in 2024. She ranks as the second-highest signee that Ralph has landed in her time at Vanderbilt.
The guard has been a captain in each of the last two seasons at Long Island Lutheran High School, one of the top high school girls’ basketball programs in the country. Jones has been an AP student and a member of the National Honor Society. She was named Team MVP in each of her final three seasons. She averaged 19.1 points, 7.1 rebounds and 3.6 assists playing against a national schedule.
On the club circuit, Jones played for Exodus of NYC of the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League. The Brookeville, New York, native averaged 12.4 points per game in the EYBL and shot 52 percent from the floor. She also competed in the 2024 & 2025 SLAM Summer Series All-Star League and won the MAMBA League, which honors the late Kobe Bryant.
Additionally, Jones represented Team USA at the 2025 FIBA U16 Women’s AmeriCup this past summer, where she helped the United States win gold. She started in all six games for Team USA and averaged 8.0 points, 3.8 assists 3.3 rebounds and 2.2 steals per game.
She is the daughter of Paula and Ulysses Jones. She chose Vanderbilt over Miami, North Carolina and Maryland.
Sther Ubaka | 6-1 | F | Sao Paolo, Brazil | DME Academy (Fla.)
Sther Ubaka (Stir, Oo-Bock-Uh) is a 3-star recruit out of DME Academy in Daytona, Florida. The 6-1 forward is originally from Sao Paolo, Brazil, and is a member of Brazil’s national team.
Ubaka is known to have a high motor and elite athleticism on both ends of the court. She just completed her second season with DME Academy, where she helped her team go 27-9 in 2025-26 and ended the season ranked No. 9 in Florida.
On the international level, the newest Commodore has played in six events for Brazil starting in 2022. Ubaka has averaged 8.0 points and 8.3 rebounds per game in 30 career games played for Brazil.
Last summer, Ubaka represented her home country at the 2025 FIBA U19 Women’s World Cup in Czechia, the same event that current Vanderbilt forward Monique Williams played for Australia. She averaged 7.2 points and 6.8 rebounds per game in the Women’s World Cup and ended the event with back-to-back 12-point performances. Ubaka collected a double-double in the playoff round against Argentina, scoring 12 points and pulling down 11 rebounds to lead her team to a victory.
Ubaka has been in the United States for two years. She plays club ball for DME on the adidas circuit. She chose Vanderbilt over Penn State, Fordham and Purdue.
Vernell Atamah | 6-0 | F | Mesquite, Texas | John D. Horn HS/Northwestern State
Vernell (Ver-Nell, At-uh-Mah) comes to the West End after a prestigious two-year career at Northwestern State, where she established herself as one of the top mid-major players in the nation. Atamah capped off her tenure with the Lady Demons by being named the 2025-26 Southland Conference Player of the Year after winning SLC Freshman of the Year in 2024-25. Atamah averaged 16.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game in 64 career games over two seasons at the NCAA Division I level.
This past season, the 6-0 forward averaged 19.2 points and 6.8 rebounds per game en route to being named the 2025-26 Southland Conference Player of the Year. Atamah shot 40.9 percent from the field in her final season at Northwestern State and made 39.4 percent of her 3-point field goals.
A known sharpshooter, she set the NSU record for most 3-pointers made in a season with 93 in 2025-26. She ranked in 11th nationally in 3-pointers made per game at 2.9, while her 93 made 3-point field goals were 17th-most in all of NCAA Division I in 2025-26. Meanwhile, her 19.2 points per game average in 2025-26 led the Southland and ranked 29th nationally. She scored 20-plus points in 17 games and had a pair of 30-point performances.
A versatile athlete, Atamah collected seven double-doubles in 2025-26, which includes a 33-point, 11-rebound performance against Incarnate Word on Feb. 19 and a 31-point, 14-rebound effort vs. New Orleans on March 3.
Atamah was named the 2024-25 Southland Conference Freshman of the Year after averaging 13.9 points and 6.9 rebounds per game during her first season at Northwestern State. She became one of the fastest NSU players to score 1,000 career points, as she accomplished the feat in 62 games.
Goes by Vee, she is the daughter of Helen and Andrew Atamah, and she has three siblings. She played her prep career at John D. Horn High School in Mesquite, Texas, where she scored over 1,000 career points and pulled down over 700 rebounds. Atamah chose Vanderbilt over Georgia and Arkansas.
Mia Woolfolk | 6-3 | F | Midlothian, Va. | Manchester HS/Georgia
Woolfolk joins the Commodores after a strong two-year stay at Georgia. The 6-3 forward averaged 12.6 points and 5.4 rebounds per game, while shooting 56.5 percent from the floor in 53 career games for the Bulldogs. Woolfolk was named to the All-SEC freshman team in 2024-25.
The Midlothian, Virginia, native started in all 29 games she appeared in for Georgia during the 2025-26 season, helping the Bulldogs reach the NCAA Tournament. Woolfork averaged a career-high 13.9 points and 5.4 rebounds this past season, as she led the Bulldogs in rebounds and ranked second on the team in scoring. Woolfolk scored double-digit points in 25 games, while she registered 20-plus points in four games. The forward scored a career-high 29 points against Oklahoma and registered 27 points vs. Virginia in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. She ended the 2025-26 campaign on a 13-game double-digit scoring streak.
During her first season in Athens, Woolfolk played in 23 games and made 11 starts. She was selected to the All-SEC freshman team after putting up 11.0 points and 5.0 rebounds during her first year.
Woolfolk played her prep ball at Manchester High School in Midlothian, Virginia. She was a 4-star recruit, while ESPN ranked her as the No. 71 overall prospect in her class. The forward led her team to a state title during her senior season after she averaged 20.7 points and 9.7 rebounds per game. She is the daughter of Brandy and Peter Woolfolk. She chose Vanderbilt over Oklahoma and Florida.
The Anchored for Her Campaign
Vanderbilt launched the Anchored for Her campaign to honor its pioneering female student-athletes and cement the university’s place as the premier destination for women’s sports ahead of next year’s 50th anniversary of its varsity women’s teams. Bolstered by lead gifts from Vanderbilt Board of Trust members Nina Kohler and Kathleen Justice-Moore, JD’91, Anchored for Her’s initial $50 million goal will fuel investment in sustainable success for a new era of collegiate athletics through facility enhancements, endowed scholarships, coaching and staff positions, capital support and naming opportunities, team-specific Excellence Funds, the Women’s Athletics General Fund and the Competitive Excellence Fund.
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