Ivy League sports was once the last bastion of pure college athletics, free from scandal, shady boosters and the lure of illegal benefits for athletes. They don’t even offer scholarships, just need-based financial aid.
But with the rise of NIL deals, even the universities with the highest institutional standards and devotion to education are susceptible to having their athletes plucked from under their noses by Power 5 institutions with huge bags to throw at prospective transfers.
Harmoni Turner Stays At Harvard Despite Lure Of NIL Riches Since 2022
It’s rare that a big-time sports institution tries to lure an Ivy League athlete to its school, but in the case of sensational Harvard Crimson guard Harmoni Turner, she has had to consistently shut down rumors that she was going to hop into the transfer portal where a substantial NIL bag was waiting to be offered.
Recently, Harmoni, who is among the NCAA’s top 15 scorers squashed all speculation about transferring. Turner made her future plans very clear on Monday.
“Hey, so like I’m not transferring… ever… not even thinking about it or wanting to! I love my school but more importantly, my team #gocrim,” Turner posted on her social media account.
Harmoni Turner Says Being Offered Illegal Inducements Has Been Common for Her
The senior guard also put other programs on blast for their less-than-ethical attempts to lure her away from Harvard with monetary offers, which are technically illegal as inducements are still against NCAA rules.
“If only y’all knew the numbers they were throwing at me after my freshman year… there’s no amount of money that I’d agree to leave Harvard,” Turner said in a social media post. “This education means more to me than any $$ right now. Plus, from what I’m learning from the legends here at this school, will allow the numbers that were thrown at me from other P5 schools to damn near triple. I’m just staying the course and trusting the man above.”
Turner, a true senior, came into college as an immediate impact player, averaging 16 points and six rebounds per game as a freshman and sophomore. The 5-foot-10 guard exploded onto the national radar as a junior, averaging 19 points, six boards and four assists per game.
She immediately became a targeted talent of national title contenders hunting for that final piece. Reportedly, several schools wanted her to enter the transfer portal during the offseason and were willing to pay a large NIL fee.
Schools aren’t supposed to contact players with ready-made deals and urge them to hop into the portal, but it happens, and Turner says she’s experienced the behind-closed-doors recruitment in every offseason since 2022.
Harmoni Turner Values Her Ivy League Education & Resources Provided
Turner says she never had any reason to leave Harvard, a school that is the hardest Ivy League to gain acceptance from. As of 2024, the hardest (mainstream) colleges to get into are Caltech, which has a 2.69% acceptance rate, Harvard (3.24%), and Stanford (3.68%).
She’s already a world-beater and currently averaging 22 points per game through the first eight games of the 2024-25 women’s college basketball season, including a 41-point chicken dinner against Boston College, which was a program record.
With her senior season in full swing and Turner reportedly planning to declare for the WNBA draft, it’s clear that Turner is staying put at Harvard.
Allison Feaster Led Harvard to an Impossible and Historic NCAA Win Over Stanford In 1998
At this point, the best way for her to improve her draft stock would be to lead Harvard to the Ivy League title and an NCAA tournament berth and then slay Goliath as a low seed in the same fashion that Crimson legend and former WNBA star Allison Feaster put her school on the basketball map back in the 90s.
Feaster, then the nation’s leading scorer, led 16th-seed Harvard to a 71-67 upset of No. 1 seed Stanford in the 1998 NCAA Tournament’s first round.
Up until that game in 1998, a No. 16 seed had never defeated a No. 1 seed in a men’s or women’s NCAA tourney. Feaster, who had plans of attending medical school after college, scored 35 points to spearhead the greatest upset in college basketball history (some would argue Villanova over Georgetown in ’85) and was named an All-American, which put her on the radar of WNBA teams. She was a first-round WNBA draft pick who played from 1998-2008.
Women’s Basketball Sneaker Company Bidding Wars: High School Ballers Getting Paid
The women’s basketball scene has been buzzing and active during the offseason as big brands run by legendary ballers compete for the next big thing.
Kiyomi McMiller, a point guard out of New Jersey, joined a loaded women’s basketball athlete roster to come out of NBA legend Michael Jordan’s Jordan Brand line in 2023.
LSU women’s basketball program secured the No. 1 recruiting class in the country for 2025, featuring high school basketball star Bella Hines. Shortly after committing to play for Kim Mulkey’s Tigers, the 5-foot-9 scoring guard also signed a multi-year NIL deal with Jordan Brand.
Hines follows in the footsteps of future LSU teammate Mikaylah Williams who signed with Jordan in the Spring and current UCLA star point guard Kiki Rice who holds the distinction of being the first Jumpman NIL athlete while still in high school.
Adidas tapped WNBA legend and NBA analyst Candace Parker as its new President of Women’s Basketball and she didn’t waste time also making history by signing the iconic brand’s first girl’s high school player in 16-year-old Kaleena Smith (Ontario Christian High School in Ontario, CA).
Smith, the 2023-2024 Girls Basketball MaxPreps National Freshman of the Year last season, is the top prospect in the class of 2027.
Parker retired from the “W” in the spring as a three-time champion and two-time MVP. She then proceeded to immediately imprint her talent and influence on the company, adding Smith to a roster of WNBA stars that Parker lined up such as All-Stars Chelsea Gray, Kahleah Copper, Aliyah Boston, Aaliyah Edwards and Nneka Ogwumike.
Shaq is president of Reebok and made WNBA and social media sensation and Sports Illustrated cover girl Angel Reese the first athlete he signed.
Turner has been successful because of her grounded values and the fact that it really doesn’t get much better than Harvard as a notch in your educational belt. Even if Turner’s WNBA plans don’t pan out, a job is awaiting in some team’s front office. And when it comes to integrity she’s solid.