ASU Volleyball: Outside Hitter Iman Isanovic enters transfer portal

(Photo via Reece Andrews/WCSN)

The dominoes continue to fall for Arizona State women’s volleyball as senior outside hitter Iman Isanovic has entered the NCAA transfer portal, according to multiple reports.

The news comes as a shock as Isanovic recently announced that she would be returning as a Sun Devil for the 2023 season as a graduate student. Isanovic has had a decorated ASU career, holding seventh place on the program’s all-time kills list.

In an Instagram post on Nov. 26, she expressed her thankfulness for her time in Tempe and her excitement to continue playing as a Sun Devil.

“Thank you for shaping me into the person and player that I am today,” Isanovic said. “But do not worry, this is not our goodbye. I am beyond thankful and blessed to have the opportunity to come back for one more year to represent Sun Devil volleyball and athletics.”

Isanovic’s sudden change of heart may have stemmed from the program parting ways with head coach Sanja Tomasevic, which was announced on Dec. 9. Tomasevic had been the coach for Isanovic’s entire career at ASU, and the two clearly had a close relationship. In a press conference after ASU’s reverse-sweep loss to Arizona in its season finale on Nov. 26, Isanovic preached how important her coach was to her.

“Sanja and the coaching staff really took me in, they took a chance on a girl from Bosnia and Herzegovina,” Isanovic said. “A big part for me is staying loyal and being there for the people who were there for me because that’s just a really big part in my culture.”

Isanovic is far from the first player in the program to enter the portal this offseason. Seven other players also plan on finding a new home, including junior setter Ella Snyder, junior middle blocker Claudia Stahlke, freshman outside hitter Leah Miller and sophomore outside hitter Geli Cyr.

In addition, senior setter Shannon Shields and senior libero Annika Larson-Nummer are both graduating, leaving the Sun Devils incredibly thin in terms of depth. As of now, there are only seven players listed on the 2023 roster.

Isanovic has been one of the Sun Devils’ best players over the last few years. She led the team in kills and aces for three straight seasons and totaled 1,392 kills and 62 aces in her career. The senior was named to the 2022 All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention List, the 2022 CSC Academic All-District Team, the 2021 All-Pac-12 Team and the 2021 CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team.

While Isanovic looks to be a prime target for schools in the transfer portal, it remains to be seen how ASU will overhaul the program after several offseason roadblocks.