Iowa State women's basketball player Denae Fritz enters the transfer portal

The transfer portal has claimed its fifth Iowa State women's basketball player in less than a month, leaving Bill Fennelly's team with a depleted and inexperienced roster heading into the 2023-24 season.

Guard Denae Fritz, who started 31 games as a redshirt freshman, has entered the transfer portal. She confirmed the news to the Register on Tuesday. Fritz is one of three starters from the 2022-23 team entering the portal.

Fritz, a 5-foot-11 guard from Maryville, Tenn., averaged 8.8 points and 4.6 rebounds for the Cyclones after missing a large portion of the previous season with an injury.

The other Cyclones who have announced they're entering the transfer portal: guard Maggie Espenmiller-McGraw, guard Lexi Donarski, post Morgan Kane and post Maggie Vick. Donarski and Kane were starters, Espenmiller-McGraw played significant minutes off the bench, and Vick rarely saw action.

Donarski's departure was the biggest surprise, with the guard opting to look for another school after starting for the Cyclones the last three seasons.

Now there's Fritz, who had earned a starting spot as a true freshman before going down with an injury just three games into her first season.

Her decision to enter the portal creates another gaping hole on Iowa State's roster, which is now without four starters from a season ago with Kane, Fritz and Donarski opting to leave after Ashley Joens completed her fifth and final season.

All the departures came shortly after Iowa State wrapped up perhaps the most anticipated season in school history. The Cyclones were ranked as a top-10 team entering the season, then battled injuries and inconsistent play. The highlight of the season was a Big 12 Tournament title in Kansas City. The Cyclones then lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to 12 seed Toledo.

Iowa State's top returning player, Emily Ryan, put Cyclone fans' minds at ease Tuesday night when she reaffirmed her commitment to the program on her Twitter account. "Ride or die through it all. Love you Cyclone Nation," Ryan tweeted, with photos of Fennelly and the coaching staff included.

Tommy Birch, the Register's sports enterprise and features reporter, has been working at the newspaper since 2008. He's the 2018 and 2020 Iowa Sportswriter of the Year. Reach him at tbirch@dmreg.com or 515-284-8468. Follow him on Twitter @TommyBirch.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa State basketball player Denae Fritz enters the transfer portal