Maryland women’s basketball freshman and former five-star prospect Riley Nelson entered the transfer portal on Tuesday, The Next Hoops reported.

Nelson tore her right ACL on Jan. 14 against Purdue. The promising guard played in all 16 games prior, averaging 5.1 points per game in a rotational role.

A homegrown recruit, Nelson played in the 2023 McDonald’s All-American game, a showcase for the top high school athletes. She averaged more than 16 points per game as a senior at Bullis.

“I think at this point Riley is separating herself,” coach Brenda Frese said in October. “We’re asking her to do a lot, when you talk about scoring as well as ball handling duties.”

But Nelson’s role was diminished early on in College Park. She only averaged nearly nine minutes per game in the first four contests of the season.

Her minutes and production increased in late November and throughout December, where she scored 15 points against Niagara and 11 against Nebraska.

Nelson is a versatile offensive player and three-level scorer. She said adjusting to collegiate defenses was a challenge in practice and that she was working on playing out of ball screens more.

[Maryland women’s basketball forward Faith Masonius enters transfer portal]

Her three-point shot didn’t translate in her freshman season, though, going 3-for-16 on the year. Nelson also had a 12.4 percent turnover rate.

Nelson’s freshman year prior to her injury compares somewhat to sophomore guard Bri McDaniel’s first season. Both were role players who showed flashes of potential. McDaniel averaged 9.5 minutes per game, scoring three points a contest. McDaniel made a massive leap this season, becoming the Terps’ third-leading scorer and a premier guard in the conference.

Nelson’s departure leaves Maryland thin at the guard position, a spot where depth was already scarce. Incoming freshmen guards Kyndal Walker, The Washington Post’s All-Met player of the year, and Ava McKennie enter the program. But Frese has been reluctant to play freshman guards and will likely look to the transfer portal for an immediate upgrade.

The Terps have five open scholarships and Nelson became the third member of Frese’s squad to enter the transfer portal.