The Florida exodus has taken another. The Gators have almost emptied their roster after firing Kelly Rae Finley. With a new coach in Tammi Reiss coming in, Shaquille O’Neal’s daughter Me’Arah O’Neal is looking for a new team as well. The forward has now put her hat in the ring, officially entering the transfer portal. The LSU fans are already trying to attract the daughter of their program legend.
“I felt like I connected with Coach Kelly more than I connected with any of the other schools that recruited me,” She had said. “She really cares about me not just on the court but off the court. That’s important for me.” However, now she needs to find a new program with a similar connection.
“O’Neal has officially entered the transfer portal with a “do not contact” tag,” On3’s Talia Goodman wrote.
She averaged 13.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks over 33 starts in 2025-26 with the Gators. She shot 52.9% from the field and 38.1% from the 3-point range. A “Do Not Contact” (DNC) tag means the player has chosen to block teams from proactively reaching out to them while they are in the portal. So, it will be up to O’Neal to decide which teams she is considering. Yet, LSU fans are already laying out the welcome mat for Me’Arah O’Neal.
LSU Fans Make Strong Case for Me’Arah O’Neal
“I know a tiger when I see one,” one wrote. “This has @LSUwbkb written all over it!!” pitched in another. Of course, the LSU connection via her father is the most obvious one. Her father is a hall of famer in the program. However, there are more strings to this connection than just that, as O’Neal seems to be following the Angel Reese trajectory.
I know a tiger when i see one
— Dionis polanco (@Dionispolanco4) April 15, 2026
“Come get your ring,” a fan wrote with a GIF of Angel Reese’s ring me celebration. Of course, there are parallels in Angel Reese and Me’Arah O’Neal’s stories. Reese started out at Maryland but couldn’t get much success at the NCAA tournament. Then she transferred to LSU as a sophomore, winning the National Championship immediately in 2022-23. In Me’Arah’s case, LSU remains one of the contenders next season, despite coming off a Sweet 16 loss.
Reese also has a working relationship with O’Neal, who is the president of Reebok Basketball, the brand with which Reese is signed. They are pretty close to the point where Reese referred to O’Neal as her “uncle.” In addition, it was Reese who hosted Me’Arah’s official visit to LSU back in 2023. So there are many hints that Me’Arah can go the Reese path.
“Mulkey think she slick,” wrote a fan. Kim Mulkey already recruited Me’Arah O’Neal heavily out of high school. She met up with O’Neal and Me’Arah when they played each other this past season. However, beyond the personal connection, she is also a player type Mulkey is looking for. This past season, they had undersized bigs and did not rebound to Mulkey’s standard.
“Z is an undersized post player this year, but she really wants to be on the perimeter,” she said. “If we move her back to the perimeter, which we plan to do, and Mama is gone, you basically have Kate and you have Grace. So, you have to have another post or two in there with them.”
With an offensive rebounding percentage of 9.1% and a defensive rebounding percentage of 17.6%, Me’Arah O’Neal was among the best rebounders in Florida. At 6’4, she brings in enough size and can even shoot the three. She shot 39% on 2.9 attempts this past season which will give Mulkey more flexibility.
“I don’t feel like it’s LSU. She’s had many opportunities to go there and she has turned it down. I’m hopeful it will be LSU though,” wrote another. It is true that Me’Arah had every chance to choose LSU. It was also in her final shortlist. But eventually it turned out to be Florida. She has expressed the wish of carving her own path rather than following her father’s.
“The biggest expectation is to turn out like my dad. But fulfilling that name, that’s not really my goal. … I just wanna be my own person and make a name for myself,” she said. However, that was three years ago and a lot has changed since then. The coach that recruited her is now out of Florida. She now has 2 years of college ball experience. Of course there are other options. She could play under Coach Yo at Ole Miss or UConn or follow Liv McGill at Oklahoma State. But with her father’s legacy at LSU, the LSU connection is strong.
