The 2025 transfer portal cycle has reshaped the landscape for NCAA basketball next season. Unsurprisingly, NIL has played a key role in retaining high-level talent in college hoops. For example, projected first-rounders UAB transfer Yaxel Lendeborg (Michigan) and JT Toppin (Texas Tech) opted to return to school -- and will receive a monster payday in return.
In the transfer portal era, it can seem like an impossible task to track where each and every transfer is heading to next season, especially when the vast majority of rosters only return an average of 30-40% of last year’s minutes. And many return less than that, including a handful of programs that don’t return a single minute.
Many programs across the country have positioned themselves for success in 2025-26 thanks to an elite transfer portal haul. To help make sense of the shuffle, take a look at in-depth rankings of the top 25 transfer portal classes in NCAA basketball in 2025-26.
25. North Carolina Tar Heels
It wasn’t quite the offseason Hubert Davis & Co. envisioned after reportedly shelling out an NIL roster north of $14 million. While questions surround whether North Carolina’s transfer portal class is worth the lofty NIL figures, the Tar Heels have still yielded a core of high-quality pieces in what is expected to be a crucial year for Hubert Davis’ job security.
The Tar Heels bolstered their frontcourt with the additions of Alabama transfer Jarin Stevenson and Arizona transfer Henri Veesaar. Stevenson’s blend of high-level scoring and athleticism gives the Tar Heels legitimate NBA-level upside in the frontcourt. Seven-footer Veesaar averaged 9.4 PPG off the bench for the Wildcats last season.
The most notable addition to the backcourt is Colorado State transfer Kyan Evans, who joins the fold after shooting 44.3% from three last season. Evans’ best basketball of the year came at the end of the season, including a 23-point outing in Colorado State’s 78-70 upset over Memphis in the Round of 64.