The transfer portal can change the fate of many teams. The right player(s) can turn a good roster into a great one – and in the case of the Florida Gators, good enough to win a national championship.
Numerous teams have landed five or more transfers; others only needed a couple to complete their rosters. This latest transfer-related ranking looks specifically at a team’s top two incoming transfers in terms of importance and potential impact.
Here are the top 10 “transfer duos” to watch for the 2025-26 season.
1. Louisville Cardinals
- Ryan Conwell, 6-foot-4 senior guard, 16.5 points per game at Xavier
- Isaac McKneely, 6-foot-5 senior guard, 14.4 points and 2.9 assists per game at Virginia
Among the most valuable players in the portal are those who can shoot well from three-point range (40-plus percent). Louisville got two of those in Conwell and McKneely, who led their high-major teams in scoring. There will be plenty of breakout candidates and mid-major guys moving up who can become stars. But already-proven players get the benefit of the doubt, and these new sharpshooting wings will keep the Cardinals near the top of the ACC.
2. Michigan Wolverines
- Yaxel Lendeborg, 6-foot-9 senior forward, 17.7 points and 11.4 rebounds per game at UAB
- Aday Mara, 7-foot-3 junior forward, 6.4 points and 4.0 rebounds per game at UCLA
Coach Dusty May had one of the best frontcourt duos in the sport this past season. There’s a chance he has upgraded – as long as Lendeborg bypasses the NBA Draft. Lendeborg is one of the best all-around frontcourt players in the country. Despite the relatively lackluster stats, Mara played his best basketball in the final month of the season and could be primed for a breakout campaign at his new stop.
3. Kentucky Wildcats
- Jayden Quaintance, 6-foot-9 sophomore forward, 9.4 points and 7.9 rebounds per game at Arizona State
- Jaland Lowe, 6-foot-2 junior guard, 16.8 points and 5.5 assists per game at Pitt
There weren’t many elite ballhandlers in the portal, so landing All-ACC guard Lowe was a big get for the Wildcats. One of the biggest X-factors in the nation will be the health and development of Quaintance, the youngest Division I player this past season; he is recovering from ACL surgery. If he’s good to go and takes any kind of leap as a sophomore, this duo could lead Kentucky on a deep postseason run.
4. Iowa Hawkeyes
- Bennett Stirtz, 6-foot-4 senior guard, 19.2 points and 5.7 assists per game at Drake
- Alvaro Folguerias, 6-foot-9 junior forward, 14.1 points and 9.1 rebounds per game at Robert Morris
The only team to bring in multiple conference player of the year winners is the Hawkeyes, getting the MVPs from the Missouri Valley Conference and the Horizon League. Stirtz had a shooting split of 50-40-79 in his first season in Division I after transferring from DII Northwest Missouri State; Folguerias shot 55 percent from the field and better than 40 percent from deep. New coach Ben McCollum led Drake into the second round of the NCAA tourney this past season and is known for having a top offensive system. He now can plug in two quality weapons – including Stirtz, who played for McCollum at NW Missouri and Drake – into that system.
5. Creighton Bluejays
- Owen Freeman, 6-foot-10 junior forward, 16.7 points and 6.7 rebounds per game at Iowa
- Josh Dix, 6-foot-5 senior guard, 14.4 points and 2.8 assists per game at Iowa
For a piece focusing on duos, picking teammates who transferred to the same school makes sense. Freeman is one of the top post scorers in the country. Dix is one of the most efficient scoring guards, as he shot 51 percent from the field and 42 percent from deep. There’s no reason not to expect their Big Ten production to carry over to the Big East.
6. St. John’s Red Storm
- Ian Jackson, 6-foot-4 sophomore guard, 11.9 points and 2.7 rebounds per game at North Carolina
- Bryce Hopkins, 6-foot-6 senior forward, 15.8 points and 8.5 rebounds per game at Providence in 2022-23 (last fully healthy season)
Considering how many big names the Red Storm landed, several combinations could’ve been used for them. But the two most important players are these guys. Hopkins is a proven All-Big East performer but has dealt with injuries the past two seasons. Jackson is one of multiple 40-plus percent three-point shooters joining the team, but his role reportedly will change, as he will have the chance to play point guard. How well these two perform will determine the Red Storm’s ceiling next season.
7. Florida Gators
- Xaivian Lee, 6-foot-3 senior guard, 16.9 points and 5.5 assists per game at Princeton
- AJ Brown, 6-foot-3 junior guard, 13.2 points and 3.2 rebounds per game at Ohio
Florida had one of the best backcourts in the nation this past season, but the top four guards are gone (three seniors, one transfer). Yet these newcomers should keep the Gators in the national conversation. Lee is a two-time All-Ivy League performer who is a great shotmaker; Brown, an Orlando native whose younger brother was a little-used freshman wing for the Gators this past season, shot nearly 40 percent from beyond the arc in the MAC. The last key guard to leave Ohio for the SEC was 6-foot-1 Mark Sears, who turned into a two-time All-American at Alabama.
8. Oklahoma Sooners
- Xzayvier Brown, 6-foot-2 junior guard, 17.6 points and 4.3 assists per game at St. Joseph’s
- Nijel Pack, 6-foot senior guard, 13.3 points and 3.6 assists per game at Miami in 2023-24 (last fully healthy season)
Brown was one of the top all-around players in the Atlantic 10 this past season; he is set to replace OU leading scorer Jeremiah Fears, a 6-foot-4 freshman who is off to the NBA. The key is Pack, a career 40 percent three-point shooter in five college seasons. He’s historically been at his best when playing off the ball, and having Brown will allow him to do that for the Sooners.
9. Purdue Boilermakers
- Oscar Cluff, 6-foot-11 senior forward, 17.6 points and 12.3 rebounds per game at South Dakota State
- Liam Murphy, 6-foot-7 senior forward, 13.0 points and 3.3 rebounds per game at North Florida
Purdue returns three starters from this past season, including 6-foot senior guard Braden Smith, who was the Big Ten Player of the Year. Coach Matt Painter looks to have filled the holes in his lineup. Cluff was one of the nation’s best rebounders, and he’s a physical big man who should help the team’s interior defense. Murphy shot better than 42 percent from three-point range on over seven attempts per game, and should be able to get plenty of open looks thanks to Smith.
10. BYU Cougars
- Robert Wright III, 6-foot-1 sophomore guard, 11.5 points and 4.2 assists per game at Baylor
- Kennard Davis, 6-foot-6 junior guard, 16.3 points and 4.9 rebounds per game at Southern Illinois
AJ Dybsanta, a 6-foot-9 forward who is the nation’s top incoming freshman, will be the main attraction at BYU, but the supporting cast will determine how far the Cougars go next season. Wright is a breakout candidate to watch at point, while Davis is an efficient scorer – 10 games of at least 20 points – who could be BYU’s sixth man.
