We are in the thick of college basketball transfer portal season as tons of players have entered and many have already found new teams. These new additions bring lots of excitement and hope to fanbases for next season, but I am here to remind you that it does not always work out. Stuff happens, injuries occur, or sometimes a player is just not the same guy he was on his previous team.
Let’s take a look back at some of the biggest players from the 2024 transfer portal who did not work out with a new team in the 2024-2025 college basketball season.
Storr was one of the most highly sought after transfers and looked to land in a great spot with Bill Self at Kansas. He was coming off an impressive sophomore year at Wisconsin where he averaged 16.8 ppg and should have been a major scoring threat for the Jayhawks. Instead he, and Kansas as a team, struggled to find their groove this season and Storr only ended up starting in four games. At the moment he has not entered the portal for next year yet which I think would be massive for a coach like Self who does well with players that spend multiple years in his system. Also of note is that if he does stay at Kansas; it will be the first time in six seasons (dating all the way back to junior year of high school) that he has been at the same school for more than one year.
Mahaney was one of the most highly touted mid major players at St. Mary’s where he averaged 13.9 ppg and seemed to be a great addition for Dan Hurley and UConn as they looked to make it a 3peat. Things just never worked for him with the Huskies. He struggled to find a consistent role in the rotation, never looked comfortable, and was nowhere near the player we saw dominate the WCC in 2023-2024. In a decision that I am sure both sides saw as for the better, Mahaney has entered the portal once again and I expect him to head back out west.
Tyson looked like a breakout candidate from the MVC who could serve in a role similar to what Brady Manek did for the Tar Heels, but it looks like he may have skipped a few levels when going from Belmont to UNC. He had an incredible sophomore year as a sharp shooter averaging 16.2 ppg but that certainly did not translate. He averaged just 7.9 minutes per game this season and his three point percentage decreased by 17.3%.
Carlyle had a very promising freshman year at Stanford averaging 11.5 ppg and looked to have a bright college basketball future. He was brought in to be a key piece for the Hoosiers this season in hopes of making it back to the tournament. Overall he had very little impact and was bad statistically. By the end of the season he barely got playing time and is now is in the portal once again.
Coleman Hawkins was good not great this season, but I would say he was no where near as bad as the hate he got would suggest. Much of that came due to the alleged $2 million dollar NIL deal he received to transfer to Kansas State. With the talent the Wildcats brought in, headlined by Hawkins, missing the tournament was a very bad look for Jerome Tang.
Jake Diebler had three notable misses in his first transfer portal class. These were three big name transfers who fell very short of meeting expectations.
Meechie Johnson returned to OSU after spending two seasons at South Carolina where he was a top guard in the SEC. He ended up missing almost the entire season after taking a leave of absence for mental health issues in December. Now he is heading back to SC which has Buckeye fans not happy.
Bradshaw was a high level transfer portal prospect brought in from Kentucky who also missed considerable time due to off the court legal issues. When he was on the court though he was nowhere near the level of player that many expected. He struggled down low in the Big Ten and only averaged 2.1 rpg despite being OSU’s tallest player at 7’1”. He has entered the portal once again.
Stewart was another guy who struggled to give Ohio State a strong presence in the paint. The former 5-star recruit and Duke Blue Devil was a big get for Ohio State that did not live up to the hype. As of now he is not in the portal and could be looking for a bounce back second season in Columbus.
When Tucker DeVries did play he was phenomenal putting up good numbers and leading WVU to a strong start of their season. His shoulder injury was unfortunate, but looking back on it now seems to be a fishy situation. In all, the DeVries father-son era did not work out at WVU and they now will be starting fresh again as they try to get the program back on track.
Pop Isaacs and Steven Ashworth were supposed to be a lethal guard duo for the Blue Jays this season, and they were for the eight games that Pop played in. I feel bad for putting him on this list since he missed due to a hip injury, but this is just a massive “what if” scenario thinking about what Creighton could have been if he stayed healthy. What makes it worse, and more of a “did not work out” situation, is that he will be with a different team next season as he is in the portal once again.