Why NC State Holds Advantages Before Transfer Portal Opening

RALEIGH — The 2025-26 NCAA men's basketball season is set to come to an end on Monday when Michigan and Connecticut face off in the National Championship game to conclude the NCAA Tournament. The page turns quickly, with the transfer portal set to open the next day on April 7, with hundreds of players likely to enter in search of new homes for the coming season.

NC State underwent some extreme drama after its season ended in the First Four, as head coach Will Wade left the program to return to LSU. The Wolfpack quickly shifted its focus to hire Justin Gainey, a program alumnus and former Tennessee associate head coach. With that deal finalized on Tuesday, the Pack is already preparing for the opening of the portal and holds some advantages over other schools. What are they?

Getting Gainey in the building quickly

Tennessee associate head coach Justin Gainey during the NCAA Tournament Elite 8 game against Michigan at the United Center in Chicago on March 29, 2026. | Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Gainey and the Volunteers saw their season come to an end on March 29 in the Elite Eight against Michigan. NC State interviewed the veteran assistant before that game and quickly pivoted to him as the top candidate after Saint Louis head coach Josh Schertz withdrew his name from the search. That allowed the Wolfpack to get Gainey hired by Tuesday and introduced on Wednesday.

From the second he knew he was going to be the next head coach of the program, Gainey began preparations for the transfer portal. While his staff will also be critical and was something he reportedly worked on putting together in the days immediately after his hiring, there needs to be a team to coach. With the extra days to predict who might enter the portal, Gainey should have a good idea of who to target on Tuesday.

The recruiting connections

Gainey built a strong reputation as a recruiter over his two decades as an assistant. That means he'll have lots of existing relationships with players around the country who might be looking for new homes for the 2026-27 season. If any potential transfers played their high school basketball in North Carolina, there's a good chance Gainey has some sort of relationship with them.

Those connections will make things much easier when the transfer portal opens, as the communication process shouldn't take the Wolfpack's new head coach very long. It might also help the program with the potential retention of some key players like Paul McNeil or Cole Cloer, if Gainey is interested in keeping either of them.