College basketball transfer portal team rankings for 9 best men’s classes so far

The transfer portal was in full swing in men’s college basketball well before the Florida Gators cut down the nets as the 2025 national champions. The portal is coming to a close on April 22, and until then, no team is safe from seeing any of their players test the open market. There’s no deadline for when players have to commit, so it will be months before rosters around the country are finalized. Still, there are some programs who have already done great work.

Many of the top players in the transfer portal have already committed as new names join every day. NBA Draft decisions are also starting to come in, with BYU’s Egor Demin and Michigan State’s Jase Richardson among the players who recently declared. Some of the top transfer portal players are testing the draft process, and will have to make a decision on college vs. the pros by June 15. Yaxel Lendeborg (who left UAB for Michigan) is the headline name torn between college and the NBA.

Early winners from the transfer portal are already emerging as the window remains open for another week. Here’s how we’d rank the best transfer portal classes by men’s college basketball teams so far this offseason.

9. LSU

Additions: G Dedan Thomas (UNLV), G Rashard King (Northeastern), forward Marquel Sutton (Omaha), C Michael Nwoko (Mississippi State), G Max Mackinnon (Portland)

Matt McMahon is 0-for-3 on making the NCAA tournament at LSU so far, but he’s ready to get back in the SEC mix with the additions he has coming in for next season. Dedan Thomas is a shifty 6’1 guard who showed he can create offense off the bounce and hit some pull-up threes at UNLV over the last two years. Michael Nwoko comes over after spending a season at Miami and Mississippi State as a 6’10 center who can clean the glass and block shots, but doesn’t have much offensive skill. Summit League Player Of The Year Marquel Sutton also committed as an athletic 6’8 wing who can get buckets as a face-up scorer. Northeastern transfer Rashard King will add more scoring punch on the perimeter. For now, the impressive depth of LSU’s class earns them a spot on this list.

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8. Texas

Additions: Dailyn Swain (Xavier), Camden Heide (Purdue), C Matas Vokietaitis (Florida Atlantic)

Sean Miller left Xavier for Texas this offseason, and immediately took his best long-term prospect with the Musketeers with him. Dailyn Swain looks like an NBA player when he walks into the gym as an athletic, long-armed 6’8 forward. He will add defensive versatility, rim finishing, and transition punch to the Longhorns, but his three-point shot remains a big hole in his game. Camden Heide can add a bit of shooting after making 39.2 percent of his attempts at Purdue. Heide didn’t have a big role with the Boilermakers in his first two seasons, but he did have an epic tip-dunk in the 2024 national championship game, and a super efficient scoring season (66 percent true shooting) as a sophomore last year. He’s not much of a playmaker for teammates, but Heide could take a big leap as a scorer next year in Austin. Matas Vokietaitis is a 7-footer in the front court coming off a solid freshman season at Florida Atlantic. Texas could use more playmaking, but Miller is still off to a nice start.

7. Washington

Additions: G Wesley Yates III (USC), C Lathan Sommerville (Rutgers), C Mady Traore (Maryland), G Quimari Peterson (East Tennessee State), F Jacob Ognacevic (Lipscomb)

Washington’s first season in the Big Ten was a disaster with a last place finish in the 18-team league. Head coach Danny Sprinkle needs a bounceback in his second season, and he’s pulled in enough talent in the portal so far to give the Huskies a chance. Wesley Yates III is coming off an awesome freshman season at USC where the 6’4 guard averaged 14.1 points per game with 43.9 percent three-point shooting and solid defense. He’ll be joined in the backcourt by East Tennessee State transfer Quimari Peterson, who was just named SoCon Player of the Year after leading the conference in points per game, steals per game. and three-point percentage. Jacob Ogancevic is another conference Player of the Year winner in the Atlantic Sun as a 6’8 forward who averaged 20 points per game and made 40 percent of his threes. Lathan Sommerville is ground-bound, beefy big man (6’10, 275 pounds) who had a solid freshman year for Rutgers last season. Add in a pair of top-50 incoming freshmen recruits, and the pieces are in place for Washington to try to push to the middle of the pack in the Big Ten next year.

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6. Georgetown

Additions: G DeShawn Harris-Smith (Maryland), G KJ Lewis (Arizona), G Langston Love (Baylor), F Duncan Powell (Georgia Tech), F Isaiah Abraham (UConn)

Ed Cooley has missed the NCAA tournament in his first two seasons as head coach at Georgetown, but next season will be his most talented team yet after his additions in the portal. KJ Lewis was a big-time contributor for Arizona the last two years as an athletic 6’5 guard who defends and slashes to the basket, but doesn’t have a reliable outside jumper. Langston Love will add more stability to the backcourt after a solid three-year career at Baylor, and hopefully his jumper can bounce back after a down junior season by his standards. Duncan Powell is a 6’8 forward who can stretch the floor a little bit (35.8 percent from three on 4.5 attempts per game) coming from Georgia Tech. DeShawn Harris-Smith was a top-30 national recruit at Maryland for his athleticism, defensive versatility, and slashing, but he fell out of favor in the Terps’ short rotation last year. The biggest piece for Georgetown will be center Thomas Sorber, who we have projected as a first-round NBA draft pick, but could also potentially return. With Sorber and a little more shooting, this looks like a Big East contender next year, but it will be hard to keep him in college if he’s drawing looks in the top-20.

5. Creighton

Additions: G/F Josh Dix (Iowa), C Owen Freeman (Iowa), G Nik Graves (Charlotte)

Ryan Kalkbrenner is finally out of eligibility after a legendary career at Creighton, but the Bluejays should still be very good with the class head coach Gregg McDermott is bringing in. Creighton landed the two best players from Iowa in Josh Dix and Owen Freeman. Dix is a lethal 6’6 shooter who just knocked down 42 percent of his threes last season, while Freeman is a bruising interior scorer who will take Kalkbrenner’s old post. McDermott also added Nik Graves from Charlotte to add some creation ability as a 6’3 guard who can set up scoring chances for himself and his teammates. This feels like a high-floor transfer class that will complement the Bluejays’ returning roster well.

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4. UCLA

Additions: G Donovan Dent (New Mexico), F/C Xavier Booker (Michigan State), G Jamar Brown (Kansas City), C Steven Jamerson (San Diego)

UCLA hit the jackpot with Donovan Dent. The former New Mexico point guard was just named Mountain West Conference Player of the Year after averaging more than 20 points per game as a pass-first point guard who loves to push the pace. Xavier Booker will be the swing piece for this class. A former five-star recruit, Booker didn’t get on the floor much during his first two years at Michigan State, but has blocked shots and scored inside well when he did get a chance. Steven Jamerson will provide front court depth as a big man who can gobble up rebounds, while Jamar Brown was a 40 percent three-point shooter on the wing at Kansas City. The Bruins also lost a ton of talent in the transfer portal (Aday Mara to Michigan, Sebastian Mack to Missouri, Dylan Andrews to Boise State among them), so they still need a few more pieces, but getting Dent gives them a star to keep building around.

3. Louisville

Additions: G Adrian Wooley (Kennesaw State), F Ryan Conwell (Xavier), G Isaac McKneely (Virginia)

The Cards made the 2025 NCAA tournament in Pat Kelsey’s first year, which should be considered a huge success after the disastrous Kenny Payne era. Now Kelsey is ready to take the next step, putting together a team that has the talent to go on a legitimate run. Louisville signed a big-time scorer in 6’6 guard Adrian Wooley, who looked like the country’s top mid-major freshman last year with an electric off-the-dribble game and a 40 percent three-point stroke. Ryan Conwell can also get hot in a hurry. The Xavier transfer is a 6’4 guard who stroked 41 percent of his threes on high volume, and can create his own driving chances to the rim even if he’s not the best finisher. Isaac McKneely comes over from Virginia as another 42 percent three-point sniper on the perimeter. Add in stud freshman point guard Mikel Brown Jr., and Louisville has a case as the top-15 preseason team.

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2. Kentucky

Additions: C Jayden Quaintance (Arizona State), F Mouhamed Dioubate (Alabama), F Kam Williams (Tulane), G Jaland Lowe (Kentucky)

Mark Pope was outstanding in his first year at Kentucky, taking a team built entirely through the transfer portal to the Sweet 16 without an obvious star. The NBA will have a lot more interest in Lexington this year with Jayden Quaintance on campus. Quaintance was the youngest player in college basketball last year at 17 years old, but he was still one of the better defensive big men in the country at Arizona State. He’s a mobile big man with long arms and a strong chest who can blow up pick-and-rolls and swat shots above the rim. He’ll be joined by Kam Williams, a 6’8 wing who brings versatile defense and knockdown shooting coming off a great freshman year with Tulane. Mouhamed Dioubate is another big, athletic forward coming off a great freshman season at Alabama. Jaland Lowe comes over from Pitt as a long and agile shot-creating guard who struggles to shoot from the outside. With plenty of talent returning to the roster plus two McDonald’s All-American freshmen (guard Jasper Johnson and center Malachi Moreno), the Wildcats should have one of the better rosters in the country.

1. Michigan

Additions: F/C Yaxel Lendeborg (UAB), F/C Morez Johnson, G Elliot Cadeau (UNC), C Aday Mara (UCLA)

Dusty May took Michigan from an 8-win team to a Sweet 16 team in his first season as head coach. He’s thinking even bigger next season if everything goes according to plan. Yaxel Lendeborg was arguably the top overall player in the portal as a do-everything 6’9 forward who can erase shots defensively, clean the glass, and dominate offensively with his blend of scoring and playmaking. Lendeborg will enter the NBA Draft if he’s considered a first round pick, and Michigan took precautions against that by adding two more talented front court pieces in Morez Johnson and Aday Mara. Johnson had a standout freshman year at Illinois as an interior scorer and rebounder, while Mara is a skilled 7’3 center who can block shots and throw some fantastic passes. Elliot Cadeau comes over from UNC to add more playmaking. Michigan is losing a lot of talent from last year with Danny Wolf likely jumping to the NBA, Vlad Goldin out of eligibility, and Tre Donaldson transferring to Miami, but this incoming group is even better ... as long as it has Lendeborg.