Counting Down Cal's Top-50 Transfer Athletes: No. 47 Xavier Carlton

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:

No. 47 Xavier Carlton

Sport: Football

Arrival year at Cal: 2022-23

Previous school: Utah (Played in one game as a true freshman in 2020 and made one tackle. Played in 11 games with two starts as a redshirt freshman in 2021 and had 18 tackles and one sack)

Contributions at Cal:

---Carlton was a 6-foot-6, 272 pound outside linebacker/defensive end who started 21 games in his three seasons at Cal.

---Carlton was a third-team, All-ACC selection in 2024 and missed being named to the second team by one voting point. That season he had 11 tackles for loss and nine sacks, which ranked fourth in the ACC.

--- He played 38 games for the Bears in 2022, 2023 and 2024 and recorded 130 tackles, including 23 tackles for loss and 18 sacks, along with four passes defended and two fumble recoveries.

---Carlton was signed by the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent in 2025, but he did not make the opening-day roster. He was added to the practice squad but was let go with an injury settlement in mid-September of the 2025 season.

---In 2026 Carlton is starting defensive lineman for the Louisville Kings of the United Football League. In the Kings' 37-23 win over Dallas on Sunday, May 24, Carlton had four tackles, including one tackle for a loss.

Standout performance: Carlton was named the ACC defensive lineman of the week on November 11, 2024, after recording five tackles, including two tackles for loss, as well as two quarterback hurries in the Bears’ 46-36 road victory over Wake Forest on November 8, 2024. It helped Cal get its first conference win of the year after losing its first four ACC games.

Impact on his team: Carlton provided a much needed pass rush for Cal in 2024. Cal finished with 35 sacks that season, which ranked tied for seventh in the ACC, and Carlton had more than a quarter of Cal's team sacks.

Previously on our list:

No. 48 Mady Sissoko

No. 49: Kayla Williams

No. 50: Georgia Hunter Bell

Add us as a preferred source on Google