The transfer portal is well underway, and many teams are making the final touches to their rosters with new incoming transfers and recruits. The Big 12, who has been among the top conferences in College Basketball in recent years, has seen many of their teams continue to make big moves in the portal to strengthen their rosters ahead of the 2025-26 season.
And while some of these teams did in fact bring in impressive portal hauls, some schools in the conference seemed to struggle in the portal, and may have left a bit to be desired as the season nears. Here are some of the losers from the Big 12 portal cycle.
Arizona
It was an offseason of change for the Wildcats, who lost much of their veteran pieces, some to the portal while some ran out of eligibility. Among their portal departures are KJ Lewis (Georgetown) and Henri Veesaar (North Carolina), along with Caleb Love and Trey Townsend, both running out of eligibility. However, Arizona has not added much from the transfer portal, with guard Evan Nelson being the main highlight of their incoming transfer portal haul. That being said, the Wildcats do have an impressive incoming recruiting class, highlighted by five-star Koa Peat and Brayden Burries, along with Dwayne Aristode and Bryce James. That being said, the lack of veteran additions is a bit worrisome, and while there's no doubt that this Arizona team will be immensely talented, the limited moves to add veteran pieces in the portal could come back to sting them this year.
UCF
Fresh off a Championship appearance in the College Basketball Crown, UCF had a rather rough offseason in the portal, losing nearly their entire team to the portal, with just one player from last year's team returning, that being guard Poohpha Warakulnukroh. The loss of key players such as Keyshawn Hall certainly hurt, and has forced the team to make plenty of moves in the portal themselves. They have since added players such as guard Carmelo Pacheco, forward Devan Cambridge, guard Riley Kugel, guard BJ Freeman, and several others. But despite the addition of many pieces, including several key contributors, there are still some question marks surrounding the Knights ahead of the year, and whether their additions will be enough for them to remain competitive in the Big 12. It's almost certainly a make-or-break year for head coach Johnny Dawkins, so he will have his work cut out for him regardless.
Arizona State
The Sun Devils had a rough season last year, finishing 13-20 overall despite having a rather talented roster. But much of that talent is not set to return to Tempe this year, and as things stand, the Sun Devils are expected to retain only one player from last year's team. Bobby Hurley & co effectively had to hit the reset button in the portal, and so far have added several pieces, including forward Marcus Adams Jr, guard Maurice Odum, forward Allen Mukeba, guard Adante Holiman, and forward Santiago Trouet. While solid additions, plenty of questions remain unanswered, including whether these additions will be enough to replace all of the outgoing production. Given that the team still has several open roster spots, more pieces will likely be added in the coming weeks. But as things stand, it doesn't appear as though the Sun Devils have enough pieces to replace last year's production, and they will likely need a couple of additional key additions should they want to stay relevant in the Big 12 next year.
Utah
The Utes' situation is a bit different from the rest of the teams on this list given they also underwent a coaching change this offseason, hiring former Dallas Mavericks assistant head coach Alex Jensen as the replacement for Craig Smith. That being said, while the Utah roster is certainly taking shape, some question marks remain with a few roster spots still open. Some of the portal additions so far include guard Don McHenry, forward Seydou Traore, guard Elijah Moore, and forward Jakhi Howard. But the Utes are far from finished in the portal, and once Jensen & co. fully fill out their roster, there's a solid chance that they're no longer among the portal losers. It will be intriguing to watch how the Utah roster is filled out in the coming weeks.