SEC Transfer Portal Rankings: 5 Teams With the Most Incoming Transfers for 2026

As we have seen throughout the SEC and college football in general, one of the quickest ways to flip a roster after a down year is through the transfer portal.

Those who are in a position where they need to flip a roster are often the teams that struggled, or hired a new coach. Heading into 2026, there are six new head coaches in the SEC, and as one could imagine based on recent history, those coaches heavily relied on bringing in portal talent to fix their squad.

With college football season a couple of months away, let's take a look at which SEC programs relied on the portal the most.

SEC's most transfer portal reliant teams

Head coach Pete Golding. — Head coach Pete Golding speaks at Ole Miss “Meet the Rebels” in Oxford, Miss. on Saturday, April 25, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Rounding out the top five are Will Stein and the Kentucky Wildcats. The former Oregon offensive coordinator will go from being at a school with unlimited resources and plenty of historic success to a Kentucky program that just parted ways with the winningest coach in its history, because they were stuck in no-man's land.

The Wildcats brought in 42 transfers with Notre Dame quarterback Kenny Minchey and Texas running back CJ Baxter headlining the group.

The next two programs on the list have a lot of recent history with each other as LSU and Ole Miss both brought in 44 transfers apiece. The Tigers fired Brian Kelly and were able to lure away Lane Kiffin from Ole Miss despite the Rebels being in the middle of their best season in school history, and a College Football Playoff run.

Kiffin made his presence felt from the moment he set foot in Baton Rouge, as the Tigers have the No. 1 class in the portal with notable players such as Colorado left tackle Jordan Seaton, Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt and Ole Miss EDGE Princewill Umanmielen.

As for Ole Miss, Pete Golding brought in the No. 2 transfer portal class, and are looking to build off their great playoff run. Their class has exciting players such as Oregon EDGE Blake Purchase, Auburn corner Jalyn Crawford and Michigan State running back Makhi Frazier.

Second most transfers in SEC

Arguably in need of the biggest reset of the bunch, first-year Auburn head coach Alex Golesh was able to bring in 46 transfers. He brought along his quarterback from USF, Byrum Brown, and also added Ole Miss EDGE Da'Shawn Womack and Baylor running back Bryson Washington.

Golesh and company will look to provide Auburn its first winning full-length season since 2019.

Most transfers brought in by an SEC program

Following a 2-10 season and the firing of Sam Pittman, the Arkansas Razorbacks brought in a league-high 48 transfers. Former Memphis head coach Ryan Silverfield was aggressive as any new coach in the portal, and brought in some pretty big names.

Among the more notable are Boise State wide receiver Chris Marshall, Baylor linebacker Phoenix Jackson and Tulane corner Jahiem Johnson.

Only time will tell if all of these transfer additions will pay off, but you cannot fault the coaches for trying.

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