Which blue-blood programs whiffed on big-time names in the portal? And a Big Sky squad as a portal winner?
Thanks to a partnership between The Portal Report and Hoops HQ, here is a look at significant portal winners and losers as teams continue to fill out their rosters.
WINNERS
Illinois
With the commitment of 6-foot-7 sophomore guard Andrej Stojaković on Monday, Illini coach Brad Underwood continued an impressive offseason of signing recruits with a surname ending in “ić.” This streak, which Underwood noted with an unfortunately short-lived change to his social profile picture, started with the addition of 7-foot-2 sophomore forward Zvonimir Ivišić, a transfer from Arkansas. Ivišić, who began his career with a season at Kentucky, joins his twin Tomislav, a 7-foot-1 sophomore center who led the Fighting Illini in rebounding this past season. On top of that, Underwood landed commitments from 6-foot-9 Montenegrin forward David Mirkovic and Serbian point guard Mihailo Petrovic, a 6-foot-3 floor general.
In Stojaković, a California transfer, Underwood landed the son of three-time NBA All-Star Peja Stojaković. The younger Stojaković had offers from, among others, Duke, Florida and Kansas before committing to Stanford out of Jesuit High in Carmichael, Calif., as a top-20 national recruit. Following one season with the Cardinal in which Stojaković struggled to find his footing, he transferred to Cal, where he averaged 17.9 points and 4.7 rebounds this past season. Expect the Illini to contend for a conference title in what appears to be a loaded Big Ten for 2025-26 season.
North Carolina State
New coach Will Wade inherited a roster with just two returning players. He has been more than up to the challenge in restocking that roster.
Wade brought two transfers with him from McNeese State. Alyn Breed, a 6-foot-3 senior guard, was the Cowboys’ leading scorer at 17.5 points per game. Breed began his career with three seasons at Providence. Also arriving from McNeese is Quadir Copeland, a 6-foot-6 junior guard who led the Cowboys with 4.5 assists per game. Copeland played two seasons at Syracuse.
More recently, Wade landed 6-foot-2 junior guard Tre Holloman, a key contributor off the bench for Michigan State; Terrance Arceneaux, a 6-foot-6 sophomore wing who appeared in 40 games for national runner-up Houston; and 6-foot-9 sophomore forward Jerry Deng, a transfer from Florida State. And per reports, NC State is in the running for 6-foot-3 sophomore guard PJ Haggerty, who was third in the nation in scoring at Memphis this past season. Haggerty also is considering Ole Miss, Texas and a return to Memphis.
Sacramento State
In one of the bigger splashes of an offseason filled with some jaw-dropping portal moves, Sacramento State landed Shaquille O’Neal as its general manager. O’Neal will work for new Hornets coach Mike Bibby in a volunteer role.
Bibby formally accepted the job April 1, and he made his first foray into the portal by landing 6-foot-8 junior guard Shaqir O’Neal from Florida A&M. Shaq’s son, Shaqir began his career with two seasons at Texas Southern before transferring to FAMU after last season. Tuesday, Bibby earned a commitment from UCF 6-foot-3 freshman guard Mikey Williams. Once a national top-50 recruit, a tumultuous ending to his high school career initiated a rocky start to Williams’ college career. Williams showed some flashes in minimal court time for UCF, including scoring 14 points on Feb. 11 against Iowa State.
Alongside a pair of eye-catching names, Bibby landed commitments from 6-foot-3 sophomore guard Zach Anderson and 6-foot-8 freshman forward Brandon Gardner. Anderson averaged 11.6 points per game at Scottsdale (Ariz.) CC this past season. Gardner signed with USC as a top-100 recruit out of high school, then was at Arizona State this past season; he played in just one game in two seasons. Keep an eye out for a rapid turnaround from a Hornets team that finished last in the Big Sky this season.
LOSERS
Alabama
When Cedric Coward, a 6-foot-6 senior guard ranked No. 9 in The Portal Report’s transfer rankings announced his commitment to Duke on Monday, coach Nate Oats and the Crimson Tide lost out on a key recruit.
Coward began his career with a season at Division III Willamette University, then spent two at Eastern Washington. He averaged 17.7 points but played in just six games for Washington State this past season. Although an injury ended his season early, he had a lot of high-major interest in the portal before committing to the Blue Devils.
Coward would’ve been a nice replacement for 6-foot-8 freshman forward Derrion Reid, a former five-star recruit who entered the portal and chose SEC rival Oklahoma on Monday. The Tide did land 6-foot-8 freshman forward Keitenn Bristow on Wednesday; he averaged 11.3 points for Tarleton State this past season.
North Carolina
The Tar Heels were in the final three for Andrej Stojaković, yet in what has been the case for much of Hubert Davis’ tenure in Chapel Hill, UNC fell short.
In addition, 6-foot-6 junior guard Desmond Claude, a transfer from USC, appears to be leaning in another direction. Claude, who is considering UNC, Virginia, Kansas and Florida, took a visit to Gainesville on Thursday. The Heels may be in for another miss.
Jaydon Young, a 6-foot-4 sophomore guard, did choose UNC on April 25, which should help fill a void in the backcourt. Young averaged 8.1 points per game off the bench for Virginia Tech this past season.
Miami
Under new coach Jai Lucas, the Hurricanes had portal success right out of the gate, landing commitments from 6-foot-9 junior forward Malik Reneau (Indiana) and 6-foot-3 junior guard Tre Donaldson (Michigan).
But the seas have grown rocky lately. Peyton Marshall, a 7-foot freshman center and former four-star recruit, transferred to Georgia Tech instead of Miami after one season at Missouri; Marshall is an Atlanta native. And Josh Harris, a 6-foot-8 freshman forward who averaged 13.4 points and 7.1 rebounds for North Florida, cancelled a planned visit to Miami and committed to Indiana. He went to high school about 25 miles north of Miami’s campus, in the Fort Lauderdale suburb of Pembroke Pines.
