Counting Down Cal's Top-50 Transfer Athletes: No. 13 Teddye Buchanan

We rank the mid-career arrivals in Berkeley who have had the greatest impact on the Golden Bears

Teddye Buchanan | Photo by Darren Yamashita

The transfer portal era in college athletics seems like it’s been with us forever. Likewise, most fans can recall less turbulent times when transfers happened, they simply didn’t look like a stampede to the 1849 California Gold Rush.

We thought it was time to rank the best transfers Cal teams have attracted, most of them in recent seasons but also including a few OGs from yesteryear. 

We limited our ranking to transfers from four-year colleges.

Here is the next athlete in our countdown: 

13. Teddye Buchanan

Sport: Football 

Arrival year at Cal: 2024

Previous school: UC Davis (Buchanan played for the Aggies from 2020-23, totaling totaled 208 tackles with 14.5 tackles for loss in four seasons)

Contributions at Cal: 

— A 6-foot-2, 235-pound linebacker, who grew up in San Francisco,  Buchanan returned to the Bay Area after a productive career with the FCS-levels Aggies. In his Cal debut, he had nine tackles 

— Buchanan led the Bears in tackles with 114 — fourth-most in the ACC — and topped Cal with 12 tackles for loss in 2024. Also had five sacks and two forced fumbles.

— He had four games with double-digit tackle totals, including a season-high 15 with two tackles for loss and a pass breakup in the Bears’ 24-23 loss to North Carolina State.

— Buchanan earned first-team All-ACC honors in his introduction to FBS-level football.

— Joined cornerback Nohl Williams as a Cal defensive player chosen in the 2025 NFL draft, chosen by the Baltimore Ravens in the fourth round.

Standout performance: In Cal’s second nonconference game, Buchanan had 11 tackles, including two sacks and a third tackle for loss, as the Bears — two-touchdown underdogs on the road — and beat Auburn 21-14. He also forced a fumble and had two quarterback pressures. All of that helped Cal force a season-high five turnovers, a pivotal factor in the outcome.

Impact on his team: Buchanan and the Bears’ defense allowed an average of barely 12 points per game during a 3-0 start to the season. But Cal lost its next four games by a combined margin of nine points and wound up 6-7 after a 24-13 defeat to UNLV at the LA Bowl.

Previously on our list: 

No. 14: Geno Carlisle

No. 15: Justin Cobbs

No. 16: Rowan Hamilton

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