A look back at how Baylor fared with the transfer portal in 2025

With the 2025 season in the books for Baylor Bears football, it’s time to look back at the players who joined or left the program through the transfer portal before the season and how it played out for them. There were 25 players who joined the program via the portal between December 2024 – August 2025 and 12 left the team via the portal in the same time span.

Below is a breakdown of each position (transfer in & out) and how the players performed in 2025.

Quarterback

Dequan Finn (Transferred to Miami Ohio)

Walker White (Transferred in from Auburn)

Finn opened the 2024 season as the starting quarterback for Baylor before losing the job to Sawyer Robertson in week three. Finn landed in the MAC, where he showcased his dual-threat ability with 1,451 passing yards, 395 rushing yards, 13 total touchdowns and six interceptions. Finn was 4-3 as the starter for the RedHawks before a bizarre mid-season exit to presumably prepare for the NFL draft. White committed to Aranda and Baylor in late December but never was a factor at the position with Sawyer Robertson being one of the most productive quarterbacks in college football.

Running back

Dominic Richardson (Transferred to Tulane)

Richard Reese (Transferred to Stephen F. Austin)

Richardson was one of the biggest losses in the portal for Aranda and Co., the senior from Oklahoma City went back home to Tulsa and finished fifth in the AAC with 1,065 rushing yards and five touchdowns. He appeared to get stronger down the stretch with 166 yards (vs Oregon State) and 203 yards (vs Army) in the final two games of the season. Reese took a step down to the FCS level with perennial powerhouse Stephen F. Austin and finished with 448 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 73 carries.

Wide Receiver

Baylor WR Kole Wilson — Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

Tyler Kirkwood (Transferred in from Southern)

Louis Brown IV (Transferred in from Colorado State)

Ryne Shackelford (Transferred in from Purdue)

Kobe Prentice (Transferred in from Alabama)

Kole Wilson (Transferred in from Texas State)

Aranda and the staff brought in a large group of talent from the portal despite not losing any to the portal. Prentice was the big name coming from Tuscaloosa and had the highest expectations, but Wilson ended with the best numbers (44 receptions, 591 yards, five touchdowns). Prentice missed two games due to injury but managed to become a huge redzone threat and finished with 26 receptions, 380 yards and six touchdowns. Brown was an interesting case as he had six receptions, 79 yards and a touchdown through three games before deciding to redshirt and save a year of eligibility. Kirkwood and Shackelford did not record a catch and were buried on a deep depth chart at the position.

Tight End

Tight end was the only position to not gain or lose a player heading into the 2025 season. Baylor was fortunate to have Michael Trigg, arguably the best at the position in the Big 12 and a finalist for the Mackey award. Trigg finished the season with 50 receptions, 694 receiving yards and six touchdowns.

Offensive Line

Keystone Allison (Transferred in from Louisiana Tech)

Connor Cameron (Transferred in from Arizona State)

Drake Knobloch (Transferred in from Iowa State)

Joe Crocker (Transferred in from Louisville)

Garrison Grimes (Transferred to BYU)

Alvin Ebosele (Transferred to Houston)

The most successful programs are strong on the line of scrimmage and the results for this group at Baylor did not pan out in 2025. Allison joined the program on the day of the season opener at Auburn, so naturally, he did not factor into the rotation. Crocker saw eight snaps against Samford and did not see the field again, he recently entered the transfer portal. Cameron never made his way into the regular playing rotation and Knobloch made a couple of starts as the long snapper.

As for the players that left, Ebosele was named a starter in preseason camp but was inconsistent during the season with his highest PFF grades coming against West Virginia (69.3) and Baylor (69). Grimes enjoyed a career year in Provo and was named one of 10 semifinalists for the Patrick Mannelly Award, presented annually to the top long snapper in the FBS.

Defensive Line

Samu Taumanupepe (Transferred in from Texas A&M)

Adonis Friloux (Transferred in from Tulane)

Alessandro Lorenzetti (Transferred in from Michigan)

Braylen Jackson (Transferred in from SMU)

Trey Wilson (Transferred to SMU)

Brendan Bett (Transferred to Florida)

Friloux and Taumanupepe both played plenty of snaps with action in 10 and six games, respectively, but did not make an impact with a combined five tackles and zero sacks. Jackson participated in two games but did not record any stats and Lorenzetti did not get on the field at all in 2025. Wilson appeared in seven games for SMU and registered three tackles while Bett fared the best out of the entire group with 40 tackles and three sacks for the Florida Gators.

Edge rushers

Matthew Fobbs-White (Transferred in from Tulane)

Jaylin Jones (Transferred in from UTEP)

Kaian Roberts-Day (Transferred to UTSA)

JaQues Evans (Transferred to Colorado State)

Fobbs-White earned his way into the playing rotation (appeared in all 12 games) but did not make a big impact with 19 tackles and one tackle for loss. Jones, an All-Conference USA freshman in 2024, came in with high expectations but battled injuries and did not see the field in 2025. Roberts-Day worked into the rotation at UTSA but was nothing more than a depth piece and finished with nine tackles. Evans made an immediate impact with Colorado State and notched 20 tackles (eight versus Northern Colorado), 3 QB hurries and a fumble recovery before suffering a career-ending injury in October.

Linebacker

Baylor LB Travion Barnes — Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Ema’rion Winston (Transferred in from Oregon)

Travion Barnes (Transferred in from FIU)

Phoenix Jackson (Transferred in from Fresno State)

Winston, a native of Portland, Oregon came in and made an instant impact with sacks in weeks two and three versus SMU/Samford. For the season, Winston notched 26 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and three sacks. Barnes was fitting in nicely in Waco before suffering a season-ending injury after four games, he totaled 11 tackles and a sack (versus SMU). It was a tumultuous season for Jackson; he was a named a starter in preseason camp and notched eight tackles in the season opener versus Auburn. Two weeks later, Jackson suffered a season-ending foot injury versus Samford and recently announced he will go back into the transfer portal for his final year of eligibility.

Cornerback

Caldra Williford (Transferred in from Tennessee Tech)

Calvin Simpson-Hunt (Transferred in from Ohio State)

KJ Makins (Transferred in from Houston Christian)

Isaiah Dunson (Transferred to Georgia State)

Tay’Shawn Wilson (Transferred to Prairie View A&M)

Williford impressed coaches from the beginning and had a spot in the cornerback rotation. The St. Louis native played in all 13 games and notched 16 tackles, one tackle for loss and five pass breakups, including two each versus Oklahoma State and UCF. Simpson-Hunt battled through injuries all season and never found traction in Waco. The Waxahachie, Texas native finished with two tackles in seven games. Makins, coming from a smaller program at the FCS level, did not see the field in 2025. Dunson, an Atlanta native, went back home to Georgia State where he totaled six tackles in two games. Wilson went to Prairie View A&M and made 15 tackles with a pass breakup.

Safety

Baylor S Tyler Turner — Chris Jones-Imagn Images

Tyler Turner (Transferred in from Oregon)

Devin Turner (Transferred in from Northwestern

Placide Djungu-Sungu (Transferred in from Duke)

Corey Gordon (Transferred to Louisville)

Tyler Turner ended up being a solid addition to the program as a consistent starter in the secondary, he would finish 2025 with 32 tackles, two pass breakups and a tackle for loss. Devin Turner was a serviceable three-year starter at Northwestern but unfortunately suffered a season-ending knee injury in the ‘Baylor Blitz’ event to end spring camp. Djungu-Sungu was buried on the depth chart for a majority of the season and ended the season with five tackles and a blocked kick versus Samford. Gordon took his talents to Louisville and proceeded to become a starter in the secondary. The Oklahoma City native collected 53 tackles, three tackles for loss and two pass breakups.