Purdue women’s basketball offseason tracker: Hila Karsh commits, provides boost to perimeter
The Boilermakers added an important element to next season’s roster when Hila Karsh, a 5-foot-8 Israeli combo guard who has played for her country’s National Team since 2023, committed to coach Katie Gearlds.
Karsh posted her announcement on social media.
Purdue won a key recruiting battle with Karsh, who had Duke and UCLA in her final three schools. Adding Karsh gives the Boilermakers 11 players on next year’s roster, including seven who weren’t with the program last season. Don’t look for the roster to expand to 15 players but Purdue will likely add at least one more player.
Gearlds addressed the void at point guard by bringing Karsh and fellow transfer Taylor Feldman (Northern Arizona) into the program. The pair gives the Boilermakers more versatility on the perimeter with multiple players who can handle point guard duties.
Finding an experienced point guard who can run the offense and is a scoring threat was a top priority in the offseason. Karsh would have four years of eligibility, and it’s her experience against high-level European players that makes her an appealing prospect.
Karsh plays for Hapoel Rishon Le-Zion, a professional women’s basketball club in Israel.
She’s averaging 9.3 points through 29 games, shooting 52.7% from the field (49 of 93) and 33.1% from 3-point range (50 of 151) in 26.2 minutes.
Karsh averaged 11 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in last year’s FIBA U20 Eurobasket. In 2023, Karsh averaged 14.6 points and 5.3 rebounds in the FIBA U20 European Championships. She averaged 12.3 points and 4.6 rebounds in the 2022 FIBA U18 European Championships.
Along with Feldman, Kiki Smith (Arkansas), Nya Smith (UNC Greensboro), and Taylor Henderson (UNC Wilmington) and come to Purdue via the transfer portal. Madison Layden-Zay played four years for the Boilermakers but wasn’t part of the program last season. She’s decided to use her final year of eligibility to return to the program.
Karsh joins Purdue’s 2025 recruiting class, which also includes Avery Gordon (Brownsburg) and Keona Douwstra (The Netherlands).
Junior McKenna Layden and sophomores Lana McCarthy and Kendall Puryear return from last season.
