Ranking the Top 10 Transfer Classes in Men’s College Basketball

Note: The number in parenthesis next to some names denotes that player’s standing in Hoops HQ’s ranking of the Top 50 transfers. 

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1. Louisville

Commits: 6-foot-10 sophomore forward Flory Bidunga (No. 2), 6-foot-1 junior guard Jackson Shelstad (No. 13), 6-foot-6 sophomore guard Karter Knox, 6-foot-10 junior forward Alvaro Folgueiras 

For the second consecutive offseason, Pat Kelsey has put together a loaded portal class that should have his team contending for the ACC crown. After earning Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and All-Big 12 First Team honors at Kansas, Bidunga was one of the top prizes available. He’ll form an exceptional duo with Shelstad, a former star at Oregon who missed a bulk of the 2025-26 campaign due to injury but averaged 15.6 points and 4.9 assists when healthy. Knox was a two-year starter at Arkansas and Folgueiras played a major role on an Iowa team that made the Elite Eight. As a whole, Louisville’s class is well balanced, experienced and addresses the program’s major issue (defense) from this season. 

2. Indiana

Commits: 6-foot junior guard Markus Burton (No. 18), 6-foot-10 sophomore forward Aiden Sherrell (No. 23), 6-foot-3 sophomore guard Bryce Lindsay, 7-foot-2 sophomore center Samet Yigitoglu, 6-foot-6 sophomore guard Jaeden Mustaf, 6-foot-5 sophomore guard Darren Harris

Last offseason, Indiana pursued mostly mid-major standouts in the portal, a strategy that did not result in an NCAA Tournament berth. All six of the players in this year’s class are from the power-conference level. Darian DeVries’ impressive haul includes elite scorers in Burton (Notre Dame) and Lindsay (Villanova), proven big men with tremendous size in Sherrell (Alabama) and Yigitoglu (SMU), and versatile wings in Mustaf (Georgia Tech) and Harris (Duke). Burton was limited to just 10 games this season due to a broken ankle, but he ranked fifth in the nation in scoring (21.3 points per game) in 2024-25. Sherrell finished second in the SEC in blocks, while the towering Yigitoglu was first in the ACC in offensive rebounds.

3. Texas

Commits: 6-foot-1 freshman guard Isaiah Johnson (No. 9), 6-foot-7 sophomore forward David Punch (No. 14), 6-foot-5 freshman guard Amari Evans, 6-foot-8 sophomore guard Elyjah Freeman 

The combo of Johnson and Punch should vault Texas into the preseason top 10 conversation. As a freshman at Colorado, Johnson led the team in scoring (16.9 points per game) while shooting 48.6 percent from the field and 37.8 percent from three. Punch, a do-it-all forward, was the centerpiece of a TCU team that went 23-12 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, averaging 14.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.9 blocks and 1.3 steals. Throw in an experienced wing in Freeman (Auburn) and a promising freshman in Evans (Tennessee) and the Longhorns are positioned to contend for their first SEC title. 

4. Tennessee

Commits: 6-foot-7 freshman forward Jalen Haralson (No. 44), 6-foot-3 sophomore guard Terrence Hill Jr. (No. 46), 6-foot-5 senior guard Tyler Lundblade, 6-foot-2 junior guard Dai Dai Ames, 6-foot-10 junior center Miles Rubin

Working with a blank canvas, Rick Barnes has assembled a team that looks, at least on paper, like an offensive juggernaut, which is not the usual identity of his teams. When seven of his players decided to transfer out in early April, Barnes didn’t panic. As he told Hoops HQ earlier this week, his new offseason approach is “production over retention” — and he added plenty of production via the portal. 

All five of the program’s signees averaged at least 11 points per game this season. A former five-star recruit, Haralson posted the fourth-highest scoring average by a freshman in Notre Dame history (16.2 points per game); Hill was the primary weapon (15.0 points per game) on a VCU team that reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament; Lundblade, the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year, is one of the nation’s top shooters; Ames led Cal in scoring (16.9 points per game) and connected on 37.6 percent of his threes; and Rubin started 100 of the 103 games he appeared in over a three-year run at Loyola Chicago. 

5. Miami

Commits: 6-foot-2 freshman guard Acaden Lewis (No. 21), 6-foot-11 sophomore center Somto Cyril (No. 29), 6-foot-8 sophomore forward DeSean Goode (No. 38)

The wins keep coming for Jai Lucas and Miami. After guiding the program back to the NCAA Tournament in his first season at the helm, Lucas landed three big-time players in the portal: an outstanding floor general in Lewis, a defensive anchor in Cyril and an under-the-radar star in Goode. Lewis was handed the keys right away at Villanova and shined, earning All-Big East Second Team honors with averages of 12.2 points, 5.3 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 1.9 steals. He became the first Wildcat to average five or more assists since John Celestand in 1998-99. As the starting center at Georgia, Cyril led the SEC in blocks per game (2.2) and ranked first in the nation in total dunks (83). Goode was named Horizon League Player of the Year after averaging 15.2 points and 8.7 rebounds in his sole season at Robert Morris.

6. Villanova

Commits: 6-foot-10 junior forward Kwame Evans Jr. (No. 17), 6-foot-6 junior forward Devin Royal (No. 32), 6-foot-3 sophomore guard Elijah Crawford, 5-foot-11 junior guard Darryl “Buddy” Simmons II, 6-foot-4 senior guard Jake Fiegen

It was looking bleak for Villanova when Acaden Lewis and Bryce Lindsay both decided to hit the portal, but the program bounced back in spectacular fashion. Kevin Willard got the ball rolling by signing two of the best and most versatile forwards on the market: Evans brings tremendous size, mobility and rim protection (13.3 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game at Oregon), while Royal is more of a physical, bruising big (13.7 points and 5.7 rebounds per game at Ohio State). To replace Lewis and Lindsay, Nova landed three talented mid-major guards: Crawford posted 14.1 points and 4.9 assists per game at UIC, earning All-MVC Second Team honors; Simmons led St. Bonaventure in scoring (16.4 points per game) and knocked down 42.5 percent of his threes; and Cornell’s Fiegen was one of the top players in the Ivy League, averaging 17.1 points on 41.4-percent shooting from behind the arc. Those five additions should have the Wildcats in the mix for a Big East title. 

7. Houston

Commits: 6-foot-1 junior guard Dedan Thomas Jr. (No. 11), 6-foot-8 senior forward Delrecco Gillespie (No. 33), 6-foot-3 junior guard Corey Hadnot II, 6-foot-9 sophomore forward Braden East

Houston had some work to do in the portal with Kingston Flemings and Chris Cenac Jr. off to the NBA, Emanuel Sharp and Milos Uzan out of eligibility and Isiah Harwell transferring out. Kelvin Sampson not only landed top-tier talent — he found the perfect fits for Cougar basketball. Thomas is an elite point guard who takes great care of the basketball. A foot injury limited him to just 16 games this season at LSU, but he averaged 15.3 points and 6.5 assists against only 1.6 turnovers when healthy. Gillespie is the exact type of big man Sampson covets: a tough, relentless rebounder who puts constant pressure on the rim. The veteran led the entire country in double-doubles as a senior at Kent State this season. Hadnot provides a necessary scoring punch given all of UH’s backcourt departures (20.4 points per game on 52.0-percent shooting at Purdue Fort Wayne), while East is another solid interior option (12.8 points and 9.1 rebounds per game at Lamar). 

8. North Carolina

Commits: 6-foot-9 freshman guard Neoklis Avdalas (No. 25), 6-foot-3 junior guard Terrence Brown, 6-foot-6 freshman guard Matt Able, 6-foot-9 sophomore forward Maxim Logue

What a start to the Michael Malone era at North Carolina. The program is still waiting to find out if star big man Henri Veesaar will return to Chapel Hill or turn pro, but this portal class ensures Malone will have an ACC contender regardless. A former pro in Greece who excels as a playmaker, Avdalas averaged 12.1 points, 4.6 assists and 3.1 rebounds as a freshman at Virginia Tech. He’s a great fit alongside a sharpshooting wing in Able (8.8 points per game at NC State) and a gifted all-around scorer in Brown (19.9 points and 3.8 assists per game at Utah). Those three should comprise Malone’s starting backcourt, while Logue (4.8 points and 3.1 rebounds per game at FAU) provides frontcourt depth. 

9. Providence

Commits: 6-foot-6 junior guard Miles Byrd (No. 20), 6-foot-2 junior guard Malik Mack, 6-foot-4 sophomore guard Devin Vanterpool, 6-foot-3 junior guard Ryan Sabol, 6-foot-11 junior forward Arrinten Page, 6-foot-1 freshman guard Gavin Hightower, 6-foot-10 junior center Samson Aletan

Malone isn’t the only new head coach who’s found success in the portal. Bryan Hodgson has done a superb job rebuilding Providence since taking over the program in late March. The Friars have received commitments from a whopping seven transfers, including the reigning Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year in San Diego State’s Miles Byrd, two-year Georgetown point guard Malik Mack and FAU’s leading scorer Devin Vanterpool. Page (Northwestern) and Aletan (Yale) bring size and versatility to the frontcourt, while Sabol (Buffalo) is an elite perimeter shooter. Providence also signed former G League standout Dink Pate, who averaged 16.0 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.6 assists for the Westchester Knicks this season.

10. Missouri

Commits: 6-foot-6 freshman forward Jamier Jones (No. 45), 6-foot-11 freshman forward Bryson Tiller, 6-foot-8 junior forward Jaylen Carey

Dennis Gates lost a bulk of his rotation from the 2025-26 campaign to either graduation or the portal, but he landed three big-time transfers who — alongside a highly ranked freshman class headlined by five-star guard Jason Crowe Jr. — should make the Tigers legitimate contenders in the SEC. Jones was named to the All-Big East Freshman Team with averages of 11.9 points and 4.5 rebounds at Providence; Tiller shined as a rookie with Missouri’s archrival Kansas, recording 7.9 points and 6.1 rebounds per game; and Carey has been a critical piece of two SEC programs during his college career (Vanderbilt in 2024-25 and Tennessee this season).