Throughout the offseason, The Portal Report ranks every transfer who enters the portal and grades each move with an overall rating (out of 99).
That overall rating is based entirely on production from the previous season and is determined by measuring a player’s ability in seven fundamental areas: impact, scoring, distribution, shooting, finishing, rebounding and defending.
As commitments start to roll in, those ratings allow TPR to rank a program’s transfer class based on its average rating in any of those seven areas. Today, thanks to Hoops HQ’s partnership with TPR, we’re looking at the 10 transfer classes with the highest average rebounding rating heading into the 2025-26 season.
Note: Only the top three rebounders in the class are included to ensure balanced rankings. Players are listed in order of their individual rebounding rating.
1. Baylor (Rebounding rating: 93)
Incoming transfers: Juslin Bodo Bodo, 6-foot-11 junior center (High Point); Caden Powell, 6-foot-9 senior center (Rice); Michael Rataj, 6-foot-8 senior guard (Oregon State).
The skinny: Led by the top individually rated, the Bears take the crown in TPR’s portal class rebounding rankings. Bodo Bodo, who started all 71 games in two seasons at High Point, averaged 9.0 rebounds per game for the Panthers in that span. He had 21 rebounds in an overtime win over UNC Asheville last season, when he averaged 8.4 rebounds per game for an NCAA Tournament team. Powell and Rataj averaged an identical 7.2 rebounds per contest at their respective schools. A Waco native, Powell returns home after two seasons at Wyoming before spending last season at Rice, where he averaged career-highs in points (10.4) and rebounds. For a Beavers team that struggled to find their footing in 2024-25, Rataj led in points (16.9), rebounds and steals (1.2).
2. Michigan (Rebounding rating: 92)
Incoming transfers: Yaxel Lendeborg, 6-foot-9 graduate senior forward (UAB); Morez Johnson Jr., 6-foot-9 sophomore forward (Illinois); Aday Mara, 7-foot-3 junior center (UCLA).
The skinny: Another portal class loaded in the frontcourt. Coach Dusty May brought in two impactful bigs from the portal last year – Danny Wolf, who was the 27th overall pick in the NBA draft, and Vladislav Goldin, who signed a two-way deal with the Miami Heat. This offseason, he brought in TPR’s No. 2 overall player in Lendeborg, who averaged 17.7 points and 11.4 rebounds last season. The rebound average was fourth nationally. Mara showed traits similar to Wolf in limited minutes at UCLA. Johnson will bring the necessary grit. As a true freshman last season, Johnson was on the floor for crucial conference minutes and averaged 7.0 points and 6.7 rebounds.
3. Arizona State (Rebounding rating: 92)
Incoming transfers: Jake O’Neil, 6-foot-4 graduate senior guard (Idaho State); Allen Mukeba, 6-foot-6 graduate senior forward (Oakland); Santiago Trouet, 6-foot-10 junior forward (San Diego).
The skinny: Coach Bobby Hurley and his staff were looking to shore up a squad that finished in the bottom four in the Big 12 in rebounding last season. After starting his college career as a golfer at Boise State, O’Neil played one more year of golf at College of Idaho before becoming an all-conference basketball player. As an every-game starter for Idaho State last season, O’Neil finished just outside the top 20 nationally in rebounding at 9.3 per contest; he also scored 13.1 points per game. Mukeba led Oakland in scoring (14.6), rebounding (7.5) and blocks (1.4). Trouet put up career-highs in scoring (8.7 points per game) and rebounding (6.8 per game) in his first season as a consistent starter.
4. Robert Morris (Rebounding rating: 90)
Incoming transfers: Nikolaos Chitikoudis, 6-foot-9 junior forward (North Carolina A&T); DeSean Goode, 6-foot-8 sophomore forward (IU Indy); Ubong Okon, 7-foot-1 senior center (Alabama State).
The skinny: After a NCAA Tournament appearance under coach Andrew Toole in 2024-25, the Colonials reloaded with six portal commitments. Chitikoudis, who ranks sixth among all players in individual rebounding rating, averaged 9.3 per game for NCA&T last season, good for 20th in the country. A native of Greece, Chitikoudis showed the ability to handle an increased workload last season, also scoring 10.8 points per game. A member of the Horizon League All-Freshman team, Goode averaged 6.0 rebounds per game and had a career-high 13 in a win over Detroit Mercy. Ukon started 21 games as Alabama State made its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2011. He averaged 3.8 rebounds per game one season after averaging 6.3 per game.
5. Arkansas (Rebounding rating: 89)
Incoming transfers: Nick Pringle, 6-foot-10 graduate senior forward (South Carolina); Malique Ewin, 6-foot-10 senior forward (Florida State).
The skinny: Although coach John Calipari’s first season in Fayetteville yielded one of the scrappier defensive teams of his career, the efforts did not translate to the glass, where the Razorbacks finished 11th in the SEC. In Pringle, the Razorbacks add one of the conference’s best rebounders from a season ago. A senior who began his career with a season at Wofford before two at Alabama, Pringle averaged 6.3 rebounds per game in his lone season at South Carolina. Ewin was a rare bright spot for the Seminoles last season alongside Jamir Watkins (43rd overall pick by the Washington Wizards) and averaged a team-high 7.6 rebounds.
Top 10 Shooting Transfer Classes for the 2025-26 Men’s Hoops Season
New marksmen are set to let it fly at West Virginia, Indiana, Louisville and the other schools on this list. TPR ranks the top transfer classes based on their new players’ ability to light it up from long range.
6. Cincinnati (Rebounding rating: 89)
Incoming transfers: Jalen Haynes, 6-foot-8 graduate senior forward (George Mason); Moustapha Thiam, 7-foot-2 sophomore center (UCF); Baba Miller, 6-foot-11 senior forward (FAU).
The skinny: Cincinnati ranked 13th in the 16-team Big 12 in rebounding, and the need to find frontcourt help in the portal was clear. Thiam likely is the newcomer with the highest upside. He started all 34 games for UCF last season, averaging 10.4 points and 6.4 rebounds. A native of Senegal, Thiam also averaged 2.6 blocks per game. Haynes and Miller are mid-major additions who began their careers in the ACC: Haynes at Virginia Tech and Miller at Florida State (Haynes, a former Montverde Academy player, also played two seasons at East Tennessee State). He and Miller averaged career-highs in rebounding last season: Haynes at 6.9 and Miller at 7.0.
7. Arkansas State (Rebounding rating: 88)
Incoming transfers: Jalen Hampton, 6-foot-7 wing (Missouri State); Aly Tounkara, 7-foot-1 sophomore forward (Lindenwood); Chudi Dioramma, 6-foot-10 junior forward (Sacramento State).
The skinny: New coach Ryan Pannone, who had been an assistant at Alabama, brought in a deep portal class. Hampton snagged 6.0 boards per game for Missouri State last season. A Missouri native, he began his career with a season each at Northwestern State and South Plains College, a junior college in Levelland, Texas. Tounkara (an average of 4.7 rebounds in just 14.9 minutes per game) and Dioramma (3.7 rebounds in 12.5 minutes per game) will look to work their way into the rotation after contributing off the bench for their teams last season.
8. VCU (Rebounding rating: 88)
Incoming transfers: Keyshawn Mitchell, 6-foot-11 junior forward (Bryant); Lazar Djokovic, 6-foot-8 junior wing (College of Charleston); Barry Evans, 6-foot-8 senior forward (Bryant).
The skinny: One of the premier mid-major programs over the past two decades, VCU acquired two excellent rebounders from Bryant in Mitchell and Evans. The two finished tied for second on the Bulldogs at 6.8 rebounds per game last season. Djokovic, a native of Serbia, suited up for Xavier as a freshman before averaging 6.3 rebounds at College of Charleston in 2024-25.
9. Texas (Rebounding rating: 88)
Incoming transfers: Lassina Traore, 6-foot-10 senior forward (Xavier); Matas Vokietaitis, 7-foot sophomore center (FAU); Dailyn Swain, 6-foot-8 junior forward (Xavier).
The skinny: Unsurprisingly, first-year coach Sean Miller brought two players with him from Xavier. Although a knee injury sidelined Traore last season, Miller called Traore the Musketeers’ top rebounder heading into the season. He averaged 12.5 points and 10.4 rebounds per season in two years at Long Beach State after starting his career at Saint Louis. Swain averaged a career-high 5.5 rebounds per game for the Musketeers. Vokietaitis, a freshman from Lithuania, grabbed 5.4 boards per contest to go along with 10.2 points.
10. USC (Rebounding rating: 87)
Incoming transfers: Gabe Dynes, 7-foot-5 junior center (Youngstown State); Amarion Dickerson, 6-foot-7 senior guard/forward (Robert Morris); Ezra Ausar, 6-foot-9 senior forward (Utah).The skinny: USC closed out the offseason with the No. 3 overall portal class, per TPR, and the class was in the top 10 in both the shooting and rebounding rankings. Dynes, a defensive force who averaged 3.1 blocks per game last year, added 5.8 rebounds per contest. After two seasons at East Carolina, Ausar averaged a career-high 12.5 points to go with 5.0 rebounds per game. Dickerson, who began his career with two seasons at Mineral Area College, a Missouri junior college, earned Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year honors while grabbing 5.9 rebounds per contest.
