Penn State Lady Lions center Gracie Merkle is set to enter the transfer portal, she announced on Wednesday morning. She has one year of eligibility remaining.

Merkle is coming off a career year in what was a mostly rough season for the Lady Lions, averaging 19.2 points and 8.2 rebounds on a Division I-best 72.5% from the field. She was named to the All-Big Ten Third Team, one of two Lady Lions to get the honor, alongside teammate Kiyomi McMiller.

Merkle started her collegiate career at Bellarmine in 2022-23, where she won Atlantic Sun Freshman of the Year in a strong freshman campaign. After medically redshirting the following year, she transferred to Penn State for 2024-25, where she led the Lady Lions in scoring.

She entered the transfer portal and signed with Maryland in April 2025, but had second thoughts and decided to return to Penn State the following month for her redshirt junior season. She’s now entering the portal for a third time, looking for a new home in her final year of eligibility.

Merkle is the sixth Lady Lion to enter the transfer portal in the aftermath of the firing of head coach Carolyn Kieger, including McMiller. A vast majority of Penn State’s scoring production appears to be going out the door, and although players are allowed to rescind from the portal, new head coach Tanisha Wright has a lot of work to do to rebuild the roster for 2026-27.