The NCAA Basketball transfer portal is arguably the biggest offseason storyline we have with the sport. Every year, hundreds of Division 1 basketball players from the 350+ programs enter their names in hopes for a better landing spot and overall situation.
Of course, it’s never a 100% guarantee on how it works out. Most of the players in the portal are usually those who played mostly on the bench prior to leaving. But there are a fair amount of mid-major stars and solid starters at the power conference level who makes a move, as well as former top-50 prospects out of high school.
Success will ultimately be determined by how much the player plays at their new stop and whether or not they can make the NCAA Tournament. Some will succeed at that while others fail but at least during the offseason, they’re coveted pieces that could make a huge difference for whoever lands them.
For this offseason, things have already and will be completely different, thanks to two unique aspects. The first being the extra year of eligbility given to all players due to the unique circumstances of this season with the ongoing covid pandemic. That’s caused a lot of players who normally wouldn’t be in NCAA Basketball to have a 5th year, with many opting to use it elsewhere.
The other thing has been the likely new rule the NCAA will pass that will allow players to transfer one time without having to sit out a year. That should happen this Summer to take out any grey areas with the waiver claims.
This has caused the number of NCAA Basketball transfers to already hit over 1,000, with maybe another 100-200 more coming. A number have already committed to new landing spots, such as Kellan Grady to Kentucky and Jamison Battle to Minnesota. But many more are still in the portal.
As of March 30th, here are the top-50 available players and their skillsets.