How Does Oklahoma’s 2026 Transfer Portal Class Compare to 2025?

The Sooners have signed 15 players from the transfer portal so far, reinforcing several of their positions of need.

Texas Longhorns wide receiver Parker Livingstone (13) before warming up before a game against the Texas A&M Aggies at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

It’s possible that Oklahoma will add more players to its transfer class, but the Sooners have built a solid foundation from their portal class.

So far, OU has signed 15 players to its roster to make up for its losses across the roster. The Sooners saw 24 of their players from the 2025 squad enter the transfer portal after the season in addition to the several key pieces who played their final college football game on Dec. 19 — like defensive end R Mason Thomas, wide receiver Deion Burks, defensive tackle Gracen Halton and tight end Jaren Kanak.

Last year, Oklahoma signed 22 players from the portal.

Some of the transfers — like Lou Groza Award-winning kicker Tate Sandell and key defensive contributors Marvin Jones Jr. and Kendal Daniels — worked out. Others, though, never found their roles in Norman and entered the portal again after 2025.

Even though the 15 incoming newcomers haven’t yet played a snap at OU, here’s how the 2025 and 2026 classes compare:

Fewer splashes in 2026

Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer rushes for a touchdown against Alabama in the CFP. | Carson Field, Sooners On SI

Frankly, Oklahoma needed more of a restart last year.

The Sooners went 6-7 overall and 2-6 in SEC play in 2024. Offensive stagnance ruled the season, and they needed to solidify just about every offensive position.

Because of that, Oklahoma went after quarterback John Mateer and running back Jaydn Ott, signing both of them.

Mateer’s first season in Norman was up and down. His production dipped after he suffered a hand injury against Auburn on Sept. 13, but he still led OU to its first College Football Playoff appearance since 2019. Mateer will again be the starter in 2026, and though he was far from perfect, the quarterback is largely viewed as someone who can lead OU back to the CFP.

Ott, on the other hand, had a non-zero impact on the offense. The running back rushed for only 68 yards on 21 carries during his lone season at Oklahoma. He is out of eligibility.

There are certainly areas in which the Sooners need to improve heading into 2026. But the holes are less wide than they were a year ago, making it less necessary for OU to go after the top, highest-billed players in the transfer portal.

What about the WRs and TEs?

Virginia Cavaliers wide receiver Trell Harris (11) celebrates a touchdown against the Duke Blue Devils in the third quarter at Wallace Wade Stadium. | Zachary Taft-Imagn Images

A year ago, OU signed five portal wideouts — and they were hit or miss.

Isaiah Sategna, who came to OU from Arkansas, led the Sooners in receiving, finishing 2025 with 67 catches for 965 yards and eight touchdowns. 

Javonnie Gibson and Jer’Michael Carter saw decently large roles in the back half of the season after Keontez Lewis made an impact early in the season. Lewis, though, wasn’t the same after he suffered an injury against Kent State on Oct. 4.

Josiah Martin was the other receiver that OU signed in that class, and he played in only two games in 2025. He transferred to North Texas after the season.

OU has signed three receivers from the portal so far in 2026: Trell Harris (Virginia), Parker Livingstone (Texas) and Mackenzie Alleyne (Washington State).

Harris was a star for the Cavaliers in 2025, ending the year with 847 yards and five touchdowns. Livingstone, a redshirt freshman for the Longhorns, registered 516 yards and six touchdowns.

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It’s encouraging that both of them not only have produced, but have done so against quality competition in Power Four conferences.

This is no slight on Gibson, Carter and Lewis who came to OU after playing at FCS schools in the year before arriving at OU. But it’s notable that Harris and Livingstone come to Norman with production against good defenses — something that Sategna had at Arkansas before transferring.

Alleyne is more of an unknown. He logged 72 yards and a touchdown as a redshirt freshman for the Cougars in 2025, but he did overlap with Mateer and OU offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle for a season when both of them were at WSU.

The tight ends that OU signed in 2026 — Hayden Hansen (Florida), Rocky Beers (Colorado State) and Jack Van Dorselaer (Tennessee) — are also different from the group that came to Norman last year.

Hansen logged 257 yards and two touchdowns for the Gators a year ago, while Beers registered 388 yards and seven touchdowns for a middling Rams squad. Van Dorselaer caught only five passes for 23 yards and a touchdown as a true freshman in Knoxville, but he appeared in all 13 of Tennessee’s games.

Hansen and Beers are proven producers, while Van Dorselaer is someone that now has a full year of SEC football under his belt.

In 2025, OU signed Carson Kent, Will Huggins and John Locke Jr. from Kennesaw State, Pittsburg State and Louisiana Tech, respectively. None of those three had a notable role for Oklahoma. Kent transferred to Pittsburgh after the season, Huggins is out of eligibility and Locke will presumably be a depth piece in the tight end room this year.

Defensive comparisons

Michigan linebacker Cole Sullivan celebrates a sack against New Mexico quarterback Jack Layne during the second half at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, August 30, 2025. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

OU added only Jones and Daniels to its defense last year — and both of them were largely productive.

The Sooners will have several key defensive players back in 2026, like defensive end Taylor Wein, defensive tackles Jayden Jackson and David Stone and defensive backs Eli Bowen, Peyton Bowen and Courtland Guillory. Still, with OU seeing several players leave to either graduation or the transfer portal, they had more holes to fill after the 2025 season.

So far, OU has signed five defensive players from the portal to its roster: linebacker Cole Sullivan (Michigan), edge rusher Kenny Ozowalu (UTSA), defensive tackle Bishop Thomas (Georgia State) and defensive backs Dakoda Fields (Oregon) and Prince Ijioma (Mississippi Valley State).

With Kobie McKinzie and Sammy Omosigho both transferring and Owen Heinecke still awaiting the NCAA’s verdict on whether or not he has another year of eligibility remaining, linebacker was a big position of need.

And Sullivan should help fill that spot. He finished 2025 with 48 total tackles, 31 solo tackles, five pass breakups, three interceptions and two sacks. A linebacker room with Sullivan, Kip Lewis and, possibly, Heinecke, the Sooners should be well-equipped at the position.

Elsewhere, OU’s newcomers seem like depth additions. And that’s not a bad thing, as some of the Sooners’ other depth pieces — like defensive back Devon Jordan and defensive tackle Markus Strong — departed after the season.

Linebacker was the big hole that needed to be filled, and OU’s signing of Sullivan mimics how the Sooners reinforced the defensive end and cheetah (slot corner) positions with Jones and Daniels last year, respectively. But this time, they added more to the defense in regards to depth, which will be crucial when injuries inevitably arise.