Four girls basketball players who began last season at Class 6A state champion Duncanville have transferred to Lancaster, which recently hired former Duncanville coach LaJeanna Howard as its new head coach.
Six players in all have transferred to Lancaster, coaches at the girls’ previous schools confirmed to The Dallas Morning News on Wednesday. The most prominent name on the list is Kaylinn Kemp, who started in Duncanville’s 59-41 win over South Grand Prairie in last season’s state championship game and was a second-team all-area selection in 2023.
The University Interscholastic League prohibits students from transferring for athletic purposes. Transfers have become a hot topic this summer, as the UIL estimates that as many as 15,000 athletes could transfer to Texas high schools this school year, either changing schools within the state or moving in from out of state.
Howard did not answer multiple phone calls seeking comment.
Lancaster announced Howard’s hiring in June, and she took over a team that is moving up to 6A in realignment after losing in the second round of the 5A playoffs last season. She won state titles at Duncanville as a player (2003), assistant coach (2016) and head coach (2020), but she was suspended for the 2022-23 season by the UIL, which also banned Duncanville from the playoffs that season because of a rules violation. Her last time coaching there was the 2021-22 season, when Duncanville lost in a regional final.
Other transfers who used to be at Duncanville and are now at Lancaster are Makenzie White, Kenidi Glover and T’Anna Saddler. All three girls began last season at Duncanville before Glover left to go to Legion Prep and Saddler left to attend Lincoln. White came off the bench for Duncanville in the state championship game as the program won its 12th state title, third-most in UIL history.
The other two transfers to Lancaster are Monique Phoenix, a second-team all-district selection from North Crowley, and Jalynn Staten from Lincoln. Saddler and Staten helped Lincoln reach the Class 4A state semifinals last season, with Saddler starting for a 30-4 team.
When Howard was the head coach at Duncanville, she had 10 players transfer into her program from May 2021 through October 2022, according to previous athletic participation forms obtained from Duncanville ISD through an open records request.
Texas high school coaches call for UIL rule changes amid staggering number of transfers
UIL has been a mainstay in the Texas high school landscape since 1910. How does it work?
With a school like Jesuit competing in UIL, why is the organization separate from TAPPS?
Faith Family basketball causing stir about charter schools in UIL: ‘It’s a free for all’
Find more high school sports coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
