Purdue women's basketball loses Aysia Proctor to knee injury

WEST LAFAYETTE — Purdue women’s basketball will be without one of its incoming transfers for the 2026-27 season.

Senior guard Aysia Proctor announced the news via social media the morning of Wednesday, Sept. 23, that she will miss the upcoming season with a knee injury.

“This is definitely not how I pictured my season going, and it’s hard knowing I won’t be able to be out there competing with my teammates,” Proctor wrote. “Basketball means so much to me, so this is a tough moment, but I know it’s only part of my journey.”

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The North Texas transfer was expected to be in the guard rotation for the Boilermakers this year. She averaged 14.1 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game last season on 42% shooting from the field and 39.3% from behind the arc for the Mean Green. Her 42% shooting from ‘3’ in conference play led the American during that stretch.

Proctor had the best performance of her career Jan. 17 against Rice, playing all 40 minutes and scoring a career-high 25 points on 10-of-16 shooting. She was named to the American’s All-Conference second team.

The Schertz, Texas, native also spent her first two seasons at UTSA. She started 20 games for the Roadrunners in her freshman year and put up an average of 9.7 points, before transitioning to more of a bench role as a sophomore with 4.5 points. Throughout her career, she’s been a threat at the 3-point line.

For the next year, Proctor’s senior campaign will be put on pause.

“My focus now is taking recovery one day at a time, staying positive and doing everything I can to come back stronger than before,” Proctor said. “This is only a setback, and my story is far from over.”

Purdue dealt with a similar case just a year ago. UNC Wilmington transfer Taylor Henderson suffered a season-ending Achilles injury on the first day of practice and missed the entire 2025-26 season.

The Boilermakers will have to go through that once more, as coach Katie Gearlds’ active roster shrinks down to 13 players.

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Chase Gemes covers high school sports and Purdue women’s basketball for the Journal & Courier. He can be reached at cgemes@usatodayco.com.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Purdue women’s basketball loses Aysia Proctor to knee injury