Michigan State women’s basketball will likely be without one of its top players as it begins a new era.

Sophomore guard/forward Matilda Ekh entered her name into the transfer portal Wednesday, first reported by the Lansing State Journal and confirmed to The State News by a team spokesperson. 

The move comes nine days after Michigan State’s legendary head women's basketball coach Suzy Merchant stepped down from the position she held for 16 years. A national coaching search is currently underway, with associate head coach Dean Lockwood serving as the interim head coach. 

Ekh, a two-time All-Big Ten honorable mention, was slated to join MSU for the 2020-21 season, though the Swede was forced to stay the year in her hometown of Västerås due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. 

Once finally arriving in East Lansing, she was immediately thrusted into the starting lineup as a freshman, where she averaged 11.8 points per game and was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman team. Ekh repeated her 11.8 points per game this past season on nearly seven less minutes per game and was consistently one of the top 3-point shooters in the conference over her two seasons with the Spartans. 

With many graduating seniors and a new head coach on the way, Ekh’s departure from Michigan State could be the first domino to fall and kickstart a roster that could see many new faces.