Ranking the Top 10 Transfer Portal Classes in Men’s College Basketball

From Rick Barnes's about-face in Tennessee to Dan Hurley's expert reloading—and a surprise program's success—here are the top 10 transfer portal classes.

Louisville aimed high in landing top players Flory Bidunga (#40) and Jackson Shelstad in the transfer portal. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Tuesday marked the closing of the transfer portal in men’s college basketball, a period of time that produced a flurry of player movement and roster-building as teams jockeyed for offseason supremacy. There were splashes (Flory Bidunga and Jackson Shelstad to Louisville), dashes (Iowa State landed five commitments in one weekend), and crashes (Kentucky whiffed on multiple overtures before finally landing two capable players).

While there are still plenty of talented players available for the taking, the official closing of the portal window marks a good checkpoint for a litmus test of the best portal classes in the country.

The 10 best transfer portal classes in mmen's college basketball

1. Tennessee

Transfer Portal Additions: G Terrence Hill Jr. (VCU), F Jalen Haralson (Notre Dame), G Tyler Lundblade (Belmont), G Dai Dai Ames (Cal), C Miles Rubin (Loyola Chicago)

Give Rick Barnes credit. Not only did the coach have to endure yet another offensive flameout by his Volunteers in an NCAA tournament Elite Eight, but the septuagenarian coach then had to watch as four of the guards from the 2025-26 roster entered the transfer portal, and leading scorer Ja’Kobie Gillispie graduated.

Undaunted, Barnes got right back to work. He found a potential Gillispie replacement in VCU transfer Terrence Hill Jr., a microwave scorer who torched North Carolina for 34 points and seven triples from all three levels in the Rams’ first round upset. In Lundblade, a catch-and-shoot sniper who drained 40.6% of his attempts from beyond the arc, and Dai Dai Ames, who knocked down 37.6% of his triples last season, Barnes captured the kind of consistent threats from three-point range that have seldom roamed Knoxville in recent seasons.

Haralson, a six-foot-seven wing, is skilled at knifing to the rim and using his length and strength to score easy buckets, a natural fit alongside all those shooters.

In Rubin, Barnes went back to the well that has served him so well all these years: defense and rebounding. Rubin ranked 18th in the country in block percentage and pulled down 7.1 rebounds per game this past season.

It’s never easy to step outside one’s comfort zone. But that’s exactly what Barnes did by building what looks like a potential offensive juggernaut through the portal.

2. Louisville

Transfer Portal Additions: C Flory Bidunga (Kansas), G Jackson Shelstad (Oregon), F Karter Knox (Arkansas), F Alvaro Folgueiras (Iowa)

You know you’re doing something right when you land two top-10 players in the portal. That’s exactly what coach Pat Kelsey managed to do, luring top portal big man Flory Bidunga and Jackson Shelstad, one of the best available guards, to the Cardinals in a program-changing swing for the fences. For good measure, Kelsey added forward Karter Knox, a former five-star recruit and an effective 3-and-D wing with room to grow, and Folgeiras, Iowa’s NCAA tournament hero, who was a well-rounded player off the bench for the Hawkeyes.

Bidunga gives the Cardinals the proven rim protector and defensive anchor they lacked last season, and a rim-rattling presence on the inside as an offensive player. In Shelstad, a capable decision-maker and three-level scorer, Kelsey has his offensive centerpiece.

In his two years at the helm, Kelsey has quickly returned the Cardinals to relevance by utilizing the portal to perfection. With an even bigger portal haul this year, Louisville on paper looks like a legit title contender and a real threat to ACC power Duke in 2026-27.

3. Texas

Transfer Portal Additions: F David Punch (TCU), G Isaiah Johnson (Colorado), F Elyjah Freeman (Auburn), G Amari Evans (Tennessee)

David Punch (#15), a disruptive defender for TCU in 2025-26, headlines Texas's transfer portal class. | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

One of the calling cards of Sean Miller’s 2025-26 Texas squad that made a run to the Sweet 16 was its elite offensive efficiency and a lengthy and athletic defense that was much improved in the NCAA tournament.

Even still, ranking 83rd in adjusted defensive efficiency during the regular season, the Longhorns were a far cry from the hard-nosed, defense-first Arizona teams Miller used to coach.

Judging by his portal class, it seems that Miller is returning to his roots. Punch, the high-profile addition of the bunch, is a six-foot-seven wing who wreaked havoc on the defensive end for TCU, averaging over a steal and a block per game while ranking among the 70 best players in the sport by defensive rating. Miller added more length in the form of Freeman, a capable 3-and-D wing and adept rebounder, and versatility in Evans, a physical defender whose wingspan allows him to guard multiple positions. With center Matas Vokietaitis returning, as well as defensive dynamo and incoming recruit Austin Gosby, this Longhorns team is going to be aggressive on the glass while boasting a switch-everything defense that figures to give opposing offenses fits.

But what really took this portal class over the top was the addition of former Colorado guard Isaiah Johnson. He had nine 20-plus point games as a freshman, including a season-high 28 points against Arizona in March. Johnson, an adept driver and finisher, is also a capable playmaker who should admirably help fill the backcourt void that was created by the departures of seniors Jordan Pope, Tramon Mark and Chendall Weaver.

4. Indiana

Transfer Portal Additions: G Markus Burton (Notre Dame), F Aiden Sherrell (Alabama), C Samet Yiğitoğlu (SMU), G Bryce Lindsay (Villanova), G Darren Harris (Duke), G Jaeden Mustaf (Georgia Tech)

Not too shabby for a football school. In all seriousness, Indiana, which has made just two NCAA tournament appearances since 2016, might be poised for a return to its rich basketball history in year two of the Darian DeVries era given the talent in this portal class.

After getting pushed around by bigger Big Ten rivals Michigan and Illinois, DeVries made importing taller players a priority. Enter the seven-foot-two Yiğitoğlu and Sherrell, who, despite being listed at six-foot-10, is actually a seven-footer, making this Hoosiers frontcourt one of the most imposing in the country. Sherrell, an elite shot-blocker who has shown an ability to space the floor, seems like a natural fit alongside Yiğitoğlu, who is more of a paint presence offensively.

Both, along with returning forward Trent Sisley, figure to make the Hoosiers one of the most improved teams on the glass.

But DeVries’s roster makeover didn’t stop in the frontcourt, for he also landed four guards in the portal, headlined by Burton, one of the best and most experienced scorers available, and Mustaf, who should fit seamlessly next to Burton given his versatility as a combo guard. The portal haul, coupled with three four-star recruits incoming, should help DeVries’s Hoosiers take a big leap next season.

5. Miami

Transfer Portal Additions: G Acaden Lewis (Villanova), C Somto Cyril (Georgia), F DeSean Goode (Robert Morris)

Acaden Lewis (55) will fill the role of floor general for Miami in 2026-27. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Plenty of teams have made more additions than Jai Lucas’s Hurricanes, but few programs took smarter bites at the apple than the second-year Miami coach. After landing three of Miami’s four leading scorers in a six-man class through the portal last year, Lucas so far has landed three players, checking off glaring needs with each addition.

Versatile defensive center and senior Ernest Udeh Jr. is graduating and leaving behind a defensive void? Enter Georgia transfer Somto Cyril, who averaged 2.2 blocks per game and ranked 12th in the country in block percentage while earning All-SEC Defense honors. The 6-foot-11 Cyril will be a defensive anchor for the Hurricanes just as Udeh was.

Cyril also excels as a lob threat and one of the best scorers around the rim, which makes him the peanut butter to the jelly that is fellow transfer Acaden Lewis in the pick and roll. Lewis, who shot 53.3% on two-pointers and averaged 5.3 assists per game, gives the Hurricanes a much-needed scorer and playmaker in the backcourt, with Tre Donaldson graduating and Tru Washington having transferred to Xavier.

Leading scorer and power forward Malik Reneau is graduating and leaving a hole in Miami’s scoring and rebounding numbers? Enter Horizon League Player of the Year DeSean Goode, a tireless rebounder and much-improved offensive player who ranked 13th in the country in effective field goal percentage while developing a more reliable three-point jumper for Robert Morris. While there will undoubtedly be questions about how the mid-major star’s game will translate to the ACC, there’s no doubt that his skillset is a good fit alongside Cyril in the frontcourt.

It will be difficult to top last year’s improvement from seven wins to 26 in Lucas’s first season. But this class, along with returnees Shelton Henderson and Dante Allen, has Miami poised to be very good once again.

6. Duke

Transfer Portal Additions: G John Blackwell (Wisconsin), F Drew Scharnowski (Belmont)

It seemed as if Jon Scheyer and Duke were headed for another quiet year in the portal, as days passed with nary a murmur out of Durham, N.C.

That changed quickly, though.

Scheyer on Sunday snagged Belmont standout Drew Scharnowski, who pulled down 6.0 rebounds in just 21.8 minutes while providing solid rim protection and sneaky playmaking for the Bruins. Scharnowski, while a logical and sound replacement for graduating senior and ACC Defensive Player of the Year Maliq Brown, was hardly an addition worth popping the champagne bottles for.

That came Tuesday, when Scheyer and the Blue Devils landed arguably the best available guard in the portal, John Blackwell, in a history-defying move for the program. Blackwell, who averaged a career-best 19.1 points and drained 2.8 triples at a 38.9% clip for Wisconsin in a loaded Big Ten last year, immediately becomes the best player on the Blue Devils, as well as their offensive centerpiece.

Blackwell and Scharnowski joining a strong core of returnees headlined by Caleb Foster and Patrick Ngongba II, as well as a promising recruiting class, has Duke poised to maintain a firm grip on the ACC in 2026-27.

7. Houston

Transfer Portal Additions: G Dedan Thomas Jr. (LSU), F Delrecco Gillespie (Kent State), G Corey Hadnot (Purdue Fort Wayne), C Braden East (Lamar)

Arguably no backcourt in the country lost more impactful contributors from its 2025-26 rotation than Houston. Cougars senior guards Milos Uzan and Emmanuel Sharp—each of whom were key members of the 2024-25 team that made it to the title game— were out of eligibility while freshman standout Kingston Flemings, the team’s leading scorer, declared for the NBA draft.

The Cougars’ frontcourt also took a hit with talented freshman center Chris Cenac Jr. NBA-bound. The departures left Houston coach Kelvin Sampson with quite an extensive shopping list in the portal.

Sampson didn’t disappoint, as he landed a true point guard in Dedan Thomas Jr. to run the Cougars’ offense. Thomas’s season was cut short to just 16 games due to a foot injury, but the Las Vegas, Nev., native showcased his exceptional playmaking skills—104 assists compared to just 26 turnovers—while helping LSU win 12 of its first 13 games in 2025-26.

Then, to help make up for the departure of leading rebounder Cenac, Sampson looked to the MAC and Kent State forward Delrecco Gillespie, a rugged rebounder who ranked third in the country in boards per game while averaging 2.3 stocks.

In the score-first Hadnot and strong-rebounding East, Sampson has two mid-major talents with skillsets that should translate well to power conference play.

With the versatile Joseph Tugler, junior Mercy Miller and sophomore Chase McCarty returning to the mix in 2026-27, Houston now possesses a strong nucleus of experienced collegiate players as it looks to advance to its seventh straight NCAA tournament next season.

8. UConn

Transfer Portal Additions: G Nik Khamenia (Duke), C Najai Hines (Seton Hall)

Dan Hurley has reason to smile after landing an impressive transfer portal class for UConn. | Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

In the aftermath of UConn’s Final Four triumph over Illinois—and in the lead-up to the Huskies’ eventual title game loss to Michigan—coach Dan Hurley was asked about the transfer portal, which has become the roster building equivalent of teeth-pulling, given the now widespread interactions with player agents and NIL deals.

“Let me enjoy this until a couple days from now because I know that is coming and it’s going to be brutal,” Hurley said. “And it’s going to start right away.”

Spoken like someone who wanted nothing to do with the portal. But that’s the exact opposite of how Hurley has operated over these last couple of weeks. Many teams have made more moves than UConn, but the Huskies’ two additions are major transactions in that the incoming players are replacing two key cogs in Hurley’s machinery.

With seniors Alex Karaban and Tarris Reed Jr. moving on, the Huskies were left with a significant shooting and scoring void on the perimeter, as well as an equally large hole in rim protection and rebounding.

First, Hurley looked within his own conference to address the latter void, importing Seton Hall center Najai Hines, a burly big man who made a significant impact for the Pirates in limited minutes as a freshman. Hines battled foul trouble far too often last year. However, he was a defensive monster, averaging 2.2 blocks in just 18 minutes per game while ranking second in the country in block percentage. The 265-pound center was largely limited to shots inside the paint offensively, but so was Reed, who just had an all-time tourney performance for the Huskies.

Then, after landing his defensive anchor, Hurley set out to replace Karaban (how does one even do this, anyway?) by bringing in promising Duke guard Nik Khamenia. Khamenia largely came off the bench for a loaded Blue Devils’ roster but showcased his offensive skills—particularly his sharpshooting—in a 14-point performance in a January win over Louisville and another 14-point game in an ACC tournament win over Clemson.

It’s easy to envision Khamenia taking a big leap in UConn’s screen-heavy, motion offense, just as it’s not difficult to envision Hines becoming one of the most dominant big men in the country for the Huskies.

9. Vanderbilt

Transfer Portal Additions: F Sebastian Williams-Adams (Auburn), F Berke Buyuktuncel (Nebraska), G Ace Glass (Washington State), F Bangot Dak (Colorado)

In his first two seasons alone, Vanderbilt coach Mark Byington has dealt with plenty of roster turnover, making him well-equipped to handle the problem that was facing him before the portal opened.

Three key members of the Commodores’ frontcourt, Devin McGlockton, Jalen Washington and Tyler Nickel, are out of eligibility. Second-leading scorer and guard Duke Miles will also be graduating, which left behind a gaping hole in the backcourt, particularly with leading scorer Tyler Tanner mulling the NBA draft.

It was especially impactful, then, that Byington targeted three frontcourt players in the portal. Williams-Adams had an up-and-down freshman season for Auburn, but played better as the year went on, averaging 8.8 points and 1.8 steals in the Tigers’ run to the NIT championship. Length on the wings was a particular strong point of the Commodores’ defense last season, meaning Williams-Adams is certainly Byington’s type.

If it’s loyalty you’re looking for in today’s college basketball, don’t look to Buyuktuncel, who got a tattoo of Nebraska’s 28-7 record on his arm just days before he entered the portal. But that’s a conversation for another day. Byington must have liked what he saw from the Turkish forward, who poured in 12 points and knocked down both of his three-point attempts in the Cornhuskers’ second-round NCAA tournament triumph over Vanderbilt. A do-everything forward who notched a triple-double in a Dec. game, Buyuktuncel brings an element of physicality on the defensive end and the glass, and could take the next step as an offensive player in Byington’s system.

Byington checked another box with the addition of Dak, a six-foot-11 big who ranked among the top 100 players in defensive rebound and block percentage, a logical replacement for Washington.

One of Vanderbilt’s most exciting additions was importing Glass, whose three-level scoring ability will make the loss of Miles hurt a bit less. In bringing in the Washington State standout, Byington has also landed a secondary ball-handler—assuming Tanner returns to Vanderbilt for another season. Barrett, who became a key member of Missouri's rotation towards the end of the year, adds a guard with starting experience to the mix.

There’s a lot to like about the Commodores’ haul.

10. DePaul

Transfer Portal Additions: C Magoon Gwath (San Diego State), G Ade Popoola (Tulsa), G Kamare Holmes (Wofford), C Wilson Jacques (Fresno State), G Koree Cotton (UT Rio Grande Valley), G Noah Meeusen (Arizona State)

Magoon Gwath (0) was the 2024-25 Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

How about those Blue Demons! DePaul was an NCAA tournament regular during the 1970s, ‘80s and ‘90s but the program has been a Big East cellar dweller for much of the 2000s, and hasn’t made the Big Dance since 2004.

However, third-year coach Chris Holtmann might be onto something, particularly with this year’s transfer portal class, which possesses the ingredients of a well-rounded team.

Holtmann added a defensive anchor in Gwath—a seven-foot, floor-spacing big who was the 2024-25 Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year. In snagging another seven-footer in Wilson Jacques, who ranked inside the top-85 players nationally in both offensive and defensive rebounding percentage, Holtmann suddenly has what looks like one of the biggest and most complete frontcourts in the Big East.

One of the glaring weaknesses of last year’s Blue Demons team? Their lack of three-point shooting, as DePaul shot just 32.5% from beyond the arc while fielding the worst scoring offense in the Big East.

Enter Popoola and Cotton, each of whom shot north of 40% from deep last year, and Holmes, who knocked down 1.7 triples per game at a 35.2% clip. All three also bring athleticism, length and the chops to defend the perimeter at a high level.

Meeusen had a bit of a rocky first collegiate season in the Big 12, but flashed his potential in Arizona State’s Jan. loss to Arizona, during which he scored 16 points and knocked down four triples. The 6-foot-five guard is capable of handling point guard duties, but can also thrive as a scorer off the ball, giving Holtmann some versatility in the backcourt.

DePaul, somewhat sneakily, has one of the best transfer portal classes in the country.

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