College Football Team Loses 32 Players to Transfer Portal

A Power Four college football program has lost 32 players from its 2025 roster to the NCAA transfer portal.

Baylor Bears head coach Dave Aranda against the Arizona Wildcats at Casino Del Sol Stadium. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The 2026 NCAA transfer portal cycle brought mass chaos to the college football landscape from early December to the end of January.

During that period, thousands of players from all levels of college football made the decision to search for more suitable programs to compete for in 2026. As a result, virtually every program lost significant portions of its 2025 roster to the cycle.

One program that saw a large number of players from its 2025 roster depart was Baylor. The Bears lost a grand total of 32 players to the 2026 portal cycle.

One of Baylor's key departures from its 2025 roster was running back Bryson Washington. The 6-foot, 216-pounder led the Bears with 788 rush yards and six touchdowns on the ground during the 2025 season.

Washington committed to Auburn as a four-star transfer in the cycle, a move that adds intrigue to the meeting between the Bears and Tigers in Atlanta to open the 2026 season.

Baylor Bears running back Bryson Washington (7) is tackled by Utah Utes linebacker Lander Barton (8) | Chris Jones-Imagn Images

The second four-star transfer to leave the Bears was offensive lineman Coleton Price. He became one of several acquisitions for Kentucky on the offensive line in its 2026 class. Other offensive linemen to transfer away from Baylor include Colton Thomasson (UNLV), Joe Crocker (Buffalo), Sean Thompkins (LSU) and Wes Tucker (Abilene Christian).

The other four-star departure from Baylor's 2025 roster is defensive end Kamauryn Morgan, who is currently uncommitted. Other defensive ends that headed to the portal include Emar'rion Winston (Arizona State), Corey Kelly (Kennesaw State) and Matthew Fobbs-White (Virginia).

The Bears will also have to replace their top tackler in linebacker Keaton Thomas, who finished 2025 with 99 total tackles. The 6-foot-2, 229-pounder decided to join Pete Golding and Ole Miss for the 2026 season. Baylor will also replace Ke'Breion Winston, Jeremy Evans and Phoenix Jackson at linebacker, the latter two of whom transferred to Arkansas.

One of the more unusual replacements Baylor will have to make is at kicker. Connor Hawkins, who made all 37 extra point attempts, made 18 of 22 field goal attempts and did not miss inside of 40 yards, is replacing Jayden Fielding at Ohio State.

While Baylor suffered more losses than gains in the 2026 portal cycle, it still managed to reel in 29 transfers. Former Florida starting quarterback and Baylor legacy DJ Lagway headlines the class, but the Bears brought in another four-star portal prospect in former Indiana defensive lineman Hosea Wheeler.

2026 is a critical season for the future of Dave Aranda's tenure at Baylor. The Bears are 36-37 under Aranda's watch, with only two winning seasons to show for in the previous six seasons.