With the transfer portal cycle well underway and over a thousand players already entered, we’ve started to see our first publicly reported interest, visits and even early commitments.
Certain programs have been able to take advantage and will be invested in the nation’s top transfers while others are quickly left behind, bogged down by a late coaching hire or postseason play.
Let’s have a look at the six biggest winners and losers from week one of transfer action based on all the latest news from around the country courtesy of The Portal Report.
WINNERS
Creighton
After falling short against No. 1 seed Auburn in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, Creighton and head coach Greg McDermott have been active in the portal. The week started with the Blue Jays reportedly expressing interest in several former top-100 prospects including 6-foot sophomore guard Trey Green of Xavier and 6-foot-6 freshman wing Jonathan Powell from West Virginia.
However, when a pair of Iowa recruits announced their decisions to enter the portal just days before its official opening, Creighton was instantly involved. On Monday, it was reported that both 6-foot-10 sophomore center Owen Freeman and 6-foot-6 junior guard Josh Dix would take a visit to the Omaha, Neb. campus.
While Dix is considering a top six of Alabama, Creighton, Illinois, Nebraska, Iowa State, Indiana and Tennessee as of earlier this week, Freeman was down to just Creighton and Michigan. By Wednesday night, McDermott had secured his first transfer addition of the offseason as the 2023-24 Big Ten Rookie of the Year in Freeman declared his commitment to Creighton.
St. John’s
Though St. John’s dream season unfortunately came to an early end with a second round upset by Arkansas at the NCAA Tournament, head coach Rick Pitino has quickly taken to the portal.
Before the transfer cycle even officially began, the Red Storm had already expressed interest in 6-foot-7 senior forward Zarique Nutter and 6-foot-10 redshirt junior forward Nick Davidson. Just a day later, it was 6-foot-6 junior wing and North Dakota transfer Treysen Eaglestaff who was declared as a potential top target for Pitino and company.
On Wednesday, it was revealed the 6-foot-7 senior wing Bryce Hopkins, a former All-Big East selection at Providence, had St. John’s in his top two with the Red Storm set to battle it out against Georgetown. Come Thursday morning and St. John’s had officially received its first commitment seemingly out of nowhere as 6-foot-5 freshman guard Joson Sanon signed for Pitino and the Red Storm.
Arizona State
There has been a lot of speculation surrounding head coach Bobby Hurley in Tempe, Ariz., but he’s back for another season, and the Sun Devils are investing in the transfer portal early. 6-foot-1 junior guard Moe Odum, who averaged 13.1 points and 7.5 assists per game this past season, was one of the portal’s earliest commits when he announced for Arizona State Thursday morning.
While the Sun Devils will have to compensate for the loss of Sanon and 6-foot-2 redshirt senior guard Brycen Long, who entered the portal on Tuesday, interest has already been abundant.
6-foot-4 senior guard and South Dakota transfer Chase Forte has reportedly received interest from Arizona State. Hurley and co. reached out to 6-foot-3 junior guard CJ Luster II, who led Stony Brook averaging 16.8 points per game this season. Most recently, it was 6-foot-8 junior forward Alex Steen, a Division II transfer from Florida Southern and two-time conference Defensive Player of the Year, who had heard from the Sun Devils.
LOSERS
Indiana
With the departure of former head coach Mike Woodson, Indiana was expected to lose some talent, but newly minted head coach Darian DeVries is going to have quite the rebuild on his hands. Former top-100 prospect and the Hoosiers leading scorer in 6-foot-9 junior forward Malik Reneau announced his plans to enter the portal just days after the season’s end.
He was quickly followed by another pair of former top-100 recruits in 6-foot-9 sophomore forward Mackenzie Mgbako and 6-foot-3 sophomore guard Kanaan Carlye as soon as the portal opened. All capped off by Indiana’s fourth-leading scorer transferring as 6-foot-3 redshirt sophomore guard Myles Rice passed his name into the portal after a year with the Hoosiers.
Obviously, DeVries was brought in for a rebuild, but despite his introductory press conference coming back on March 19, Indiana hasn’t been very prominent in the early portal cycle. 6-foot-7 senior forward Tucker DeVries and the son of Darian is expedited to follow from West Virginia, but other than his, there hasn’t been much reported interest on the Indiana side.
Virginia
With Tony Bennett’s departure coming just prior to the season, Virginia took its time to find a suitable replacement and officially hired former VCU head coach Ryan Odom on Sunday. In the meantime, the Cavaliers have already seen a slew of talent depart for the portal including leading-scorer Isaac McKneely, Andrew Rohde, Dai Dai Ames, Jacob Cofie, Blake Buchanan and more.
Since Odom’s arrival in Charlottesville, Va., there’s been a noticeable lack of activity on the transfer front while ACC rivals like Georgia Tech and Pitt are well deep into the portal. McKneely is reportedly considering a return to Virginia, but Odom and his staff will face stiff competition from both Louisville and North Carolina to try and convince him to stay another season.
Oregon State
With the Pac-12 briefly on pause and Oregon State forced to depart to the WCC, a move down to a mid-major conference has made it difficult to retain talent. Though the Beavers and head coach Wayne Tinkle found success recruiting the portal last offseason, this transfer cycle has already seen the program lose two key contributors.
On March 25, both 6-foot-9 junior forward Michael Rataj and 6-foot-5 redshirt junior guard Nate Kingz officially entered their names into the transfer portal a few days after its opening.
Meanwhile, the only public interest from Tinkle and his staff has been on a DII recruit in Steen, with the Beavers more focused on competing in College Basketball’s Crown Tournament. But without two of the program’s top three scorers from this season in Rataj and Kingz, it’ll be an uphill battle to even emerge from the first round of the bracket against Central Florida.
