The graduates have graduated. The transfers have transferred. The draft wannabes wanted to be drafted, but the drafters didn’t wanna draft them. So they’re coming back. The shuffling has shuffled. It’s all over but the hooping.

So who lost?

There are many ways to answer that question, most of them subjective. That’s why we are getting a wide range of responses to that all-important question. Sometimes, though, it’s better to take the subjectivity out of such things — to stop guessing and start computing.

Needless to say, I am not qualified to perform that function, but fortunately there are others who are. I am referring specifically to the top two data mavens in college hoops, Ken Pomeroy and Bart Torvik. They both apply efficiency data into trusty algorithms that spit out reliable rankings. Both men issue preseason rankings, and while Pomeroy’s won’t come out until the fall, Torvik already has his up and running.

So to answer to the pressing question, I did some simple math, taking the ranking of teams in KenPom’s final 2025 rankings and subtracting them from BartTovrik’s initial rankings for 2025-26. That yielded 10 of the biggest losers of the current off-season. I can’t say for sure that these are the biggest losers because I did not calculate the difference for every team in the country, but you may consider this is a representative sample of the attrition suffered by the top programs in the sport.

Herewith:

1. New Mexico

  • BartTorvik preseason ranking: 94
  • Final KenPom ranking: 41
  • Difference: 53

The Lobos went 27-8 last season and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament. That sent coach Richard Pitino to Xavier, and in his wake the entire roster emptied out. Three seniors graduated (including two starters and the sixth man) and everyone else transferred, most prominently Donovan Dent, the 6-foot-2 senior guard who was the Mountain West’s Player of the Year and opted for UCLA. Two other good players followed Pitino to Xavier, and Glue Guy Tru Washington took his talents to Miami. Eric Olen, who was hired after doing a terrific job at UCSD, brought in seven transfers, but none is projected to be high-impact. There will be much uncertainty in Albuquerque as several other top programs in the Mountain West complete their last go-round before bolting to the Pac-12 in the fall of 2026.

New Mexico guard Donovan Dent and head coach Rick Pitino.
Donovan Dent is off to UCLA, while Richard Pitino is now the head coach at Xavier.
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2. South Carolina

  • BartTorvik preseason ranking: 104
  • Final KenPom ranking: 69
  • Difference: 35

Two years ago, the Gamecocks were one of the darlings of the sport, having gone from being picked to finish last in the SEC in the preseason to tying for second with a 13-5 record and earning a No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Alas, Lamont Paris is finding the current transfer portal market to be challenging. Last season South Carolina lost three transfers but this time around it lost seven to the portal, most prominently third-leading scorer Nick Pringle, who is heading for Arkansas. Worst of all was the loss of leading scorer and rebounder Collin Murray-Boyles, a 6-foot-7 sophomore forward, to the NBA Draft. Paris signed six transfers, including 6-foot-2 senior guard Meechie Johnson, who had left from South Carolina to Ohio State a year ago and now heads back to Columbia. Maybe the Gamecocks will exceed expectations again, but at the moment they are the lowest-ranked SEC team at BartTorvik.

3. Saint Mary’s

  • Preseason BartTovrik ranking: 52
  • Final KenPom ranking: 25
  • Difference: 27

The Gaels won the West Coast Conference regular season title by three games over perennial champ Gonzaga, but now they must replace four of the five players who started all 35 games. Three graduated, and a fourth, 6-foot-3 junior guard Jordan Ross, transferred to Georgia. Randy Bennett signed a couple of mid-major transfers, so his team will be heavily reliant next season on the lone returning starter, 6-foot-8 junior forward Paulius Marauskas, plus reserves Mikey Lewis, a 6-foot-3 sophomore guard who averaged 8.2 points in 16.0 minutes, and Harry Wessels, a 7-foot-1 senior center who averaged 5.3 poitns and 3.4 rebounds. The Gaels will also need big things from freshman Dillan Shaw, a 6-foot-7 from Northridge, Calif., who is considered to be the highest-ranked recruit ever to commit to Saint Mary’s out of high school.

4. Auburn

  • Preseason BartTorvik ranking: 31
  • Final KenPom ranking: 4
  • Difference: 27

Bruce Pearl got some very good news when point guard Tahaad Pettiford withdrew from the NBA Draft and decided to return for his sophomore season. The Tigers will still be competitive next season, but they are likely to experience a significant downgrade from the team that was ranked No. 1 for much of the season and reached the Final Four. The talent drain included consensus All-American forward Johni Broome, who is one of six seniors who exhausted their eligibility, and 6-foot-7 senior forward Chad Baker-Mazara, who transferred to USC. Pearl’s five-man transfer class includes two junior college players as well as Keyshawn Hall, a 6-foot-7 senior forward from UCF who led the Big 12 in scoring at 18.8 points per game.

Chad Baker-Mazzara will be a huge loss for Auburn next season
The departure of Chad Baker-Mazzara — who transferred to USC — leaves Auburn with big shoes to fill
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5. Maryland

  • Preseason BartTorvik ranking: 36
  • Final KenPom ranking: 10
  • Difference: 26

Following its first Sweet Sixteen appearance in nine years, Maryland got hit with a double wammy when coach Kevin Willard bolted for Villanova and the entire roster followed him out the door. Most notably, freshman forward Derik Queen entered the NBA Draft, 6-foot senior point guard Ja’Kobe Gillespie transferred to Tennessee and 6-foot-4 junior guard Rodney Rice transferred to USC. New coach Buzz Williams brought in 10 transfers, including four who played for him at Texas A&M. He also signed Myles Rice, a 6-foot-2 junior point who had a disappointing season at Indiana. Williams’ teams have typically overperformed their talent over the years, but it takes time to get his culture into place. If he can get this group to the NCAA Tournament next season, it will be a huge win.

Four Maryland players stand side by side on the court during a game.
Rodney Rice and Ja’Kobi Gillespie (numbers 1 and 0, at left) have transfered, and big man Derik Queen (number 25) is off the the NBA.
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6. Clemson

  • Preseason BartTorvik ranking: 49
  • Final KenPom ranking: 23
  • Difference: 26

Brad Brownell has had a terrific two-year run at Clemson, largely because he fielded a team last season that had eight seniors. Now he faces the prospect of having to replace not only all those graduates but also the player who would have been his leading returning scorer, 6-foot-10 forward Chauncey Wiggins, who transferred to Florida State. Brownell was able to sign one of the top-rated players in the transfer portal in 6-foot-8 senior forward Nick Davidson, who averaged 15.8 points per game at Nevada, as well as five other transfers who should play right away. The best of his four incoming freshmen is Zac Foster, a 6-foot-3 guard from Atlanta.

7. Oregon

  • Preseason BartTorvik ranking: 53
  • Final KenPom ranking: 27
  • Difference: 26

Oregon’s drop would have been a lot worse if 7-foot senior center Nate Bittle had stayed in the NBA Draft. Bittle opted to return, but it will still be hard to replace the six other seniors, including three starters, who left. Dana Altman recruited five transfers, although the highest-rated player, 6-foot-9 junior forward Sean Stewart, has yet to break through during previous stints at Kentucky and Ohio State. Bittle, 6-foot junior point guard Jackson Shelstad and 6-foot-9 junior forward Kwame Evans should give Oregon a quality nucleus, but it remains to be seen how much help they’ll get from their friends.

8. Penn State

  • Preseason BartTorvik ranking: 84
  • Final KenPom ranking: 58
  • Difference: 26

The Nittany Lions caught a bad break when their leading rebounder and second leading scorer, 6-foot-10 junior forward Yanic Konan Niederhauser, opted to remain in the NBA Draft. That means Mike Rhoades has lost six of his top seven scores. The top returning player is 6-foot-5 junior guard Freddie Dillone, who averagd 9.4 points and 1.7 assists per game. Rhoades only brought in one transfer in Josh Reed, a 6-foot-7 senior forward from Cincinnati, so he is going to rely heavily on his highly-touted five-man recruiting class to fill out his roster. That could produce some tough sledding in the Big Ten next season, but if Rhoades can hold onto the youngsters then things should get better down the road.

9. Ole Miss

  • Preseason BartTorvik ranking: 47
  • Final KenPom ranking: 22
  • Difference: 25

After going 24-12 last season (10-8 SEC) and reaching the Sweet Sixteen with a senior-laden team, the Rebels bade farewell to seven of their top eight scorers. That’s a lot of replacing to do even for Chris Beard, who built his careers on transfers long before the Portal Madness set in. Ole Miss’ success next season will depend largely on whether 6-foot-6 senior guard A.J. Storr can be more productive than he was at Kansas, where he averaged 6.1 points in 15.7 minutes after transferring from Wisconsin. The six-man portal class also includes 6-foot-11 junior forward James Scott, who averaged 7.1 points and 6.1 rebounds at Louisville, and 6-foot-1 sophomore guard Travis Perry, who scored 2.7 points per game in a limited role off the bench at Kentucky. Beard is also bringing in four freshmen, most notably Niko Bundalo, a 6-foot-10 forward from Ohio.

AJ STORR, OLE MISS
Former Kansas Jayhawk A.J. Storr is a key pickup for Ole Miss.
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10. Rutgers

  • Preseason BartTorvik ranking: 93
  • Final KenPom ranking: 70
  • Difference: 23

Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey showed plenty of flashes of brilliance as freshmen, but the bottom line is the Scarlet Knights did not make the NCAA Tournament. Three seniors also graduated and three other key contributers transferred, which means Steve Pikiell will have to replace six of his top eight scorers. Rutgers’ three-man transfer class is underwhelming so Pikiell will have to depend heavily on another incoming recruiting class, although one of the newbies is a 21-year-old Lino Mark, a 6-foot-2 guard from Lithuania. Junior forward Baye Fall was a McDonald’s All-American coming out of high school but had minimal impact at Arkansas and Kansas State.

Other Notable Losers

Dayton (-20), Xavier (-20), Marquette (-19), Texas Tech (-17), Arizona State (-17), Gonzaga (-16), Texas A&M (-17), Memphis (-17)