NCAA Basketball: 20 early team winners of 2023 transfer portal offseason

8. LSU Tigers

It’s not as prolific as the group Arkansas brought in but the Tigers have some big names coming in next season. The biggest name of the four-man group is Jalen Cook, who actually started his NCAA Basketball career at LSU. He left after his freshman season to go to Tulane, where he became a star. He averaged 19.9 ppg and 4.9 apg, including multiple 30-point games and one where Cook went for 27 points and 14 assists against Memphis.

Joining Cook in the backcourt is Carlos Stewart, a guard from Baton Rouge that had a sophomore breakout season at Santa Clara. He averaged 15.2 ppg and shot 40% from three-point range, including a 29-point game against UC-Irvine. His recruitment lasted less than a week in the portal and opted to return home.

The lone frontcourt player in the group is Will Baker, a former top-100 prospect that at Nevada, averaged 13.6 ppg and 5.2 rpg this past season. The 6’11 center shot 56% from the field and went for a career-high 28 points against New Mexico. Lastly, the team got an SEC player in Jordan Wright, a 6’5 wing from Vanderbilt coming off a 10.6 ppg and 5.1 rpg campaign.

After finishing in last place, head coach Matt McMahon has rebuilt the roster fairly nicely, with guys that are power conference contributors. They may need a power forward to round out the offseason but this group should be good enough to make a big jump in the league next year.