BURLINGTON, Vt. — The University of Vermont women's basketball team announced the addition of five newcomers to its 2026-27 roster Tuesday afternoon. The class features two transfers and three first-years from five different countries, bringing experience at both the collegiate and international levels.

"We are excited to welcome these five outstanding student-athletes to the UVM basketball community," said Mayer Women's Basketball Head Coach Maureen Magarity. "Each of them brings a unique combination of talent, character, and competitiveness to our winning culture. Together, they add depth, versatility, and a strong work ethic to our roster. We look forward to helping them develop on and off the court and are confident they will make an immediate impact on our team and the Burlington community!"

Arantxa Portalez joins the Catamounts as a 6-foot-2 senior forward after spending the past three seasons at the University of Delaware. At Delaware, she served as team captain in 2025-26, earned CSC Academic All-District honors, and was recognized by Chi Alpha Sigma Gamma. Prior to Delaware, Portalez attended Romareda and played for Casademont Zaragoza, a professional basketball club based in Zaragoza, Spain. She won the 2023 Queen's Cup in the Endesa Women's League and was part of teams that captured three consecutive Aragón junior championships from 2021-23. She also won the 2021 Aragón Cadet Championship and the 2018 Aragón "Infantil" Championship, helping her regional team earn a third-place finish at the Spanish Championship.

Meja Jaegerskog joins Vermont as a 6-foot-2 junior forward after spending the past two seasons at Saint Joseph's University. Before beginning her collegiate career, she spent one year at Chatham High School in New Jersey and later returned to the United States in the summer of 2023 to play club basketball for NYC New Heights. She attended Luleå Gymnasieskola in Sweden, where she played both soccer and basketball and helped her team win the Sweden Division I North championship in 2023-24. Jaegerskog also represented Sweden at the U18 level in 2023 after competing with the Sweden U17 3x3 team in 2022. 

Neta Mayshar comes to Vermont as a 5-foot-6 point guard from Jerusalem, Israel, where she played both basketball and soccer at Maccabim Reut High School. While competing in the Division A Premier League in 2025-26, Mayshar was selected as an All-Star. She helped her team reach the State Cup semifinals and will serve as co-captain of Israel's U20 EuroBasket team. In 2024-25, she represented Israel at the U19 World Cup after helping the country's U18 national team place fourth at the 2024 EuroBasket and secure its first-ever berth in the tournament. During the 2023-24 season, Mayshar captained Hapoel "Lev" Jerusalem's U18 team, earned all-state honors, won a state cup title, and helped her team reach the Israel Division A women's finals. She also helped lead her club to the 2022-23 Israel Division B championship, earning promotion to the Division A Premier League, and captured the Division B Cup title. 

Sienna Papanastasiou-Thomas is from Richmond Hill, Ontario, and is a 5-foot-8 guard who played basketball at J. Addison School in Markham, Ontario. In high school, Papanastasiou-Thomas played both soccer and basketball. In 2026, she earned Athlete of the Year honors, was named an All-Canadian, and earned Second Team Ontario Scholastic Basketball Association (OSBA) All-Star honors. In 2025, she earned Second Team OSBA All-Star honors. In 2024, her team won the OSBA Trillium Championship. 

Maisie Keyes joins the Catamounts as a 5-foot-10 guard from Manchester, England. She competed in the Women's Elite Academy Basketball League from 2024-26 by playing for the Ipswich Basketball Club and played club basketball for the Manchester Mystics from 2016-24. Keyes served as a captain during the 2025-26 season and helped lead her teams to multiple championships, including the 2024-25 Women's National Championship, two U16 national championships, a U14 national championship, a U18 national championship, and National Cup titles in 2022, 2025, and 2026. She also earned first-team all-conference honors in 2025-26 and second-team recognition in 2024-25 while being named the 2024-25 U18 Final Fours MVP and 2026 U18 National Cup MVP. Keyes represented England at the U16, U18, and U18 3x3 levels from 2022-25.

For news and updates about the Vermont women's basketball program, follow @UVMwbb on X and Facebook, @Catamountsbb on Instagram, and visit UVMathletics.com. 

Vermont Federal Credit Union is the presenting sponsor of Vermont Women's Basketball