College basketball’s transfer portal officially opened for business Monday. It will close April 22, but players have until the fall to announce their choices and enroll in school. Hoops HQ is partnering with The Portal Report to bring you the most comprehensive inside coverage of all the news happening with the portal.
The first 12 hours following the official opening of the portal saw a bombardment of transfer announcements. Here are the top 10 players from Monday’s group of portal entries.
1. Mackenzie Mgbako, 6-foot-9 sophomore forward, Indiana
Mgbako committed to Mike Woodson and Indiana as a five-star recruit and top-10 player nationally in 2023. Following the dismissal of Woodson and the Hoosiers’ hiring of former West Virginia coach Darian Devries, Mgbako entered the portal and also will test the NBA Draft waters.
During his sophomore season in Bloomington, Mgbako averaged 12.2 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. He had 31 points in a season-opening win over Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, then three more 20-plus point performances during the season.
The likes of Kansas, Kentucky and Duke offered him out of Roselle (N.J.) Catholic, and with the likely departure of 6-foot-10 forward Cooper Flagg, Duke coach Jon Scheyer may be searching for a replacement at power forward. Orlando Antigua, a former Kentucky assistant who recruited Mgbako out of high school, now is an Illinois assistant, making that another possible landing spot.
2. Isaac McKneely, 6-foot-4 junior guard, Virginia
Virginia coach Tony Bennett announced his decision to retire just weeks before the start of the 2024-25 season. McKneely provided a rare bright spot amid the tumultuous season that followed for the Cavaliers.
McKneely averaged 14.4 points per game and shot 42.1 percent from three. He made six three-pointers in a November win over Villanova.
Recruited heavily out of Poca (W.Va.) High School, McKneely narrowed his list to Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisville, North Carolina, Purdue, Virginia and West Virginia before deciding on the Cavaliers. Look for North Carolina, Louisville and West Virginia to be the top suitors in the portal.
3. Dailyn Swain, 6-foot-8 sophomore guard, Xavier
Swain had 27 points and eight rebounds in the Musketeers’ loss to Illinois in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
After averaging just 4.6 points per game with three starts a year ago, Swain took the floor as a starter for all but one game this season and averaged 11 points and 5.5 rebounds.
The departure of Sean Miller for Texas undoubtedly presents a potential destination for Swain. A Cincinnati native, Swain had offers from Marquette, Kansas State, Ohio State, Arkansas and more out of high school. Keep an eye on Marquette, with the loss of guard Kam Jones leaving a void in the Golden Eagles’ starting five.
4. Tae Davis, 6-foot-9 junior forward, Notre Dame
After starting just two games as a freshman at Seton Hall, Davis transferred to Notre Dame. Despite a tough two seasons for the Fighting Irish on the court, Davis displayed immense improvement.
He increased his scoring from 9.2 to 15.1 points per game this season and boosted his three-point percentage to 30.2 from 18.4.
Davis fielded offers from Indiana, Purdue, Louisville, Ohio State, Xavier, Penn State, Butler and Utah out of Indianapolis Warren Central before deciding on Seton Hall. Indiana and Purdue provide the best chance to play close to home for Davis.
5. Nate Calmese, 6-foot-2 junior guard, Washington State
Calmese received minimal high-major looks out of Gilbert (Ariz.) Mesquite and signed with Lamar over offers from Nevada, Portland State and UC Santa Barbara.
Calmese starred at Lamar, averaging 17.6 points per game as a freshman. He transferred to Washington following that season, but after receiving minimal playing time in his one season with the Huskies, he refound his footing this season in Pullman.
He averaged 15.2 points per game and shot an efficient 47 percent from the field. He also played tenacious defense, a constant throughout his career, averaging over one steal per contest for a second season.
6. Treysen Eaglestaff, 6-foot-6 junior guard, North Dakota
Eaglestaff gained more national notice when he scored 51 points in a Summit League Tournament upset of South Dakota State. He also scored 40 in a seven-point loss to Alabama in December.
A native of Bismarck, N.D., Eaglestaff became a hot commodity March 11 when he announced he would enter the portal. Reports of interest flooded in Monday, including from, among others, Kentucky, Michigan, St. John’s, Kansas, LSU, Alabama, Gonzaga and UCLA.
7. Chandler Jackson, 6-foot-5 junior guard, Florida State
After starting just twice in his first two seasons at Florida State, Jackson started 27 games for the Seminoles this season.
He had a career-high 14 points against Winthrop on Dec. 21, and added two double-digit scoring performances against ACC foes Pitt (13) and Miami (11).
Ranked as a top-five player in Tennessee out of Memphis Christian Brothers, Jackson fielded offers from Auburn, Creighton, Alabama, Mississippi, Kansas and Memphis in high school before ultimately deciding on the Seminoles.
Kansas assistant coach Jeremy Case recruited Jackson out of high school. and KU provides a potential portal destination.
8. Chase Forte, 6-foot-4 senior guard, South Dakota
A three-time transfer, Forte began his career with a year apiece at UNC-Asheville, Gulf Coast State (a junior college in Panama City, Fla.) and Northwestern State.
After showing signs of stardom at Northwestern State, Forte flourished this season at South Dakota in coach Eric Peterson’s high-powered offense.
He averaged 26.5 points per contest over the final six games, finishing the season at 17.9 points per game.
Interest from USC, Baylor, Arizona State, Miami, Ole Miss and others surfaced for Forte, who is from Raleigh, N.C., following his entry into the portal.
9. Chauncey Wiggins, 6-foot-10 junior forward, Clemson
Wiggins scored 12 key points in an early-season win over Kentucky, and ended up starting 26 games. He averaged 8.3 points and just under three rebounds per game.
A three-star out of Loganville (Ga.) Grayson in the Atlanta area, Wiggins received offers from Auburn, Georgia Tech, Iowa State, North Carolina State and Maryland in high school.
Current DePaul assistant Orlando Ranson had a track record of landing stars with Maryland, including Diamond Stone and Jalen Smith. Look out for the Blue Demons as a sleeper to land Wiggins.
10. Isaiah Manning, 6-foot-8 freshman forward, TCU
Manning received minimal playing time this season at TCU. A three-star recruit from Mansfield (Texas) Legacy in the Dallas suburbs, Manning scored a season-high 10 points in the Horned Frogs’ season-opening victory over Florida A&M but added just 38 points the rest of the season.
He had offers from Columbia, Alabama, Arizona State and Harvard out of high school. Bryan Hodgson led Alabama’s recruiting efforts for Manning. Now coach at Arkansas State, Hodgson presents a clear option for Manning. But reports have Hodgson becoming the new coach at UNLV, which could mean the Runnin’ Rebels are in play.
