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Power Five college basketball programs are actively seeking transfer players outside the top 50 portal rankings to strengthen their rosters. These under-the-radar pickups could be crucial for success in the upcoming March Madness.
College basketball transfer pickups outside β or near β top 50 portal players I like most
It's been almost a month since the transfer portal opened in college basketball, and most β if not all β of the big names in the pool of available players have been locked up by new teams.
Several Power Five conference programs β like Louisville, Indiana, Texas and Tennessee β pushed all their chips and resources into the transfer portals to address notable glaring needs on their roster with the hope that their finds β perhaps ones that are seen as "under the radar" β are the missing pieces to go on a deep run in March Madness next season.
That doesn't mean teams are done looking to fill holes in their roster, nor does it mean the pool of talent is all dried up. Teams are still very much active.
RANKINGS: College basketball transfer portal 10 best players remaining, latest intel
But with the dust starting to settle and teams starting to prepare for summer practices, it's gotten to the point of the transfer portal cycle where the review of teams' transfer classes picks up to see how well they did (or are doing), and where some of the best player fits are.
Here's a look at some of the best transfer pickups who ranked near or just outside of the top 50 rankings by Power Five conference programs:
Programs like Louisville, Indiana, Texas, and Tennessee are prioritizing transfer players to fill roster gaps.
The transfer portal allows players to move between teams, providing opportunities for programs to enhance their rosters with new talent.
Under-the-radar transfers can be key to a team's success in March Madness by addressing specific needs and improving overall performance.
Yes, teams are still actively searching for talent in the transfer portal, indicating that there are players available to fill roster spots.
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Shaka Smart, coming off his first losing season at Marquette, needed to turn to the transfer portal to patch several notable roster gaps after years of relying solely on highβschool player development. The Golden Eagles coach β perhaps to some surprise β used the portal rather effectively, with one of his pickups being St. Thomas guard and Summit League Player of the YearΒ Nolan Minessale.
Minessale hails from nearby Brookfield, Wisconsin and was a standout player at Marquette High School in Milwaukee. He provides depth in the backcourt for the Golden Eagles, who are bringing back building blocks Nigel James Jr., the Big East Freshman of the Year, and Adrian Stevens as well.
Granted he'll be facing better competition in the Big East than the Summit League, his shooting ability should be a nice welcome to the Golden Eagles, as he shot 56.2% from the field and 31.5% from beyond the arc last season. Marquette finished second-to-last in the Big East with a 31.8% 3-point shooting percentage last season.
Villanova struggled with size and athleticism in its front court last season. The Wildcats resolved that weakness in the portal by landing Ohio State forward Devin Royal β in addition to Kwame Evans Jr., who also transferred to Villanova from a Big Ten program (Oregon) this offseason.
On top of bringing Big Ten starting experience to the Wildcats, Royal will bring a physical presence around the basket with his 6-foot-6, 220-pound frame and the ability to knock down 3-pointers. He boosted his 3βpoint accuracy to 31.6% last season, which was up from 27.6% the year before.
He averaged 13.7 points and 5.7 rebounds per game last season, and a rather efficient 80.2% mark at the free-throw line.
There weren't many bigger transfer portal winners than Texas this cycle. One basket short of extending their impressive March Madness run into the Elite Eight, Sean Miller and the Longhorns landed four players in the portal, one being Elyjah Freeman.
Freeman played a key role in Auburn's NIT championship, averaging 10.0 points and 7.6 rebounds in five NIT games. He finished double figures in five of his final 10 games. It's worth noting β and considering β that the 2025-26 season was Freeman's first at the Division I level after starting his career at the Division II level, so he could be in line for a breakout season in Year 2 in the SEC after averaging just 9.2 points and 5.2 rebounds per game.
He'll provide size and length to the Longhorns at the wing position and will look to find that more consistent success and production than he saw with the Tigers last season. He'll likely fill the role of Dailyn Swain, who declared for the 2026 NBA Draft, in Texas' lineup as well.
1, Tyran Stokes (Seattle, WA) - committed to Kansas
2, Jordan Smith Jr. (Fairfax, VA) - committed to Arkansas
3, Caleb Holt (Fort Lauderdale, FL) - committed to Arizona
4, Cameron Williams (Phoenix, AZ) - committed to Duke
5, Jason Crowe Jr. (Ingelwood, CA) - committed to Missouri
6, Bruce Branch III (Fort Lauderdale, FL) - committed to BYU
7, Anthony Thompson (Hudson, OH) - committed to Ohio State
8, Dylan Mingo (Glen Head, NY) - committed to Baylor
9, Christian Collins (Bellflower, CA) - committed to USC
10, Deron Rippey Jr. (Blairstown, NJ) - committed to Duke
11, Baba Oladotun (Silver Spring, MD) - committed to Maryland
12, JJ Andrews (Little Rock, AR) - committed to Arkansas
13, Taylen Kinney (Atlanta, GA) - committed to Kansas
14, Brandon McCoy Jr. (Chatsworth, CA) - committed to Michigan
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1, Tyran Stokes (Seattle, WA) - committed to Kansas
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1, Tyran Stokes (Seattle, WA) - committed to Kansas
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2, Jordan Smith Jr. (Fairfax, VA) - committed to Arkansas
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3, Caleb Holt (Fort Lauderdale, FL) - committed to Arizona
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4, Cameron Williams (Phoenix, AZ) - committed to Duke
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5, Jason Crowe Jr. (Ingelwood, CA) - committed to Missouri
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6, Bruce Branch III (Fort Lauderdale, FL) - committed to BYU
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7, Anthony Thompson (Hudson, OH) - committed to Ohio State
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8, Dylan Mingo (Glen Head, NY) - committed to Baylor
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9, Christian Collins (Bellflower, CA) - committed to USC
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10, Deron Rippey Jr. (Blairstown, NJ) - committed to Duke
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11, Baba Oladotun (Silver Spring, MD) - committed to Maryland
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12, JJ Andrews (Little Rock, AR) - committed to Arkansas
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13, Taylen Kinney (Atlanta, GA) - committed to Kansas
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14, Brandon McCoy Jr. (Chatsworth, CA) - committed to Michigan
With Dame Sarr, Cayden Boozer, Caleb Foster and Patrick Ngnonba II all returning to Duke next season β in addition to landing Wisconsin guard John Blackwell β the Blue Devils looked to have eyed in on adding some depth off the bench with their other portal acquisition. They were able to get that with Drew Scharnowski.
Scharnowski, a 6-foot-9, 230-pound forward, was one of the top mid-major players this past season in the Missouri Valley Conference at Belmont. He averaged 10.7 points and 6.0 rebounds, which was good enough to earn All-Missouri Valley Conference First Team, All-Defensive Team and Most Improved Player of the Year honors.
At Duke, Scharnowski will be tasked with providing depth to the Blue Devils front court to go with Ngongba.
MORE: Basketball recruiting 2026 team rankings: Kansas lands top player, but another program is No. 1
If there was a player made in a lab to play for Kelvin Sampson, Delrecco Gillespie would be right up there.
Gillespie's stats jump out on paper, as he averaged 17.7 points and 11.3 rebounds last season at Kent State while shooting 50.8% from the field, but so does his size and length at 6-foot-8 and 230 pounds. He also fills some roster needs for the Cougars with freshman forward Chris Cenac Jr. declaring for the NBA draft, as did team-leading scorer Kingston Flemings.
Where his impact will be greatly felt, however, is his rebounding and ability to dominate the glass, which makes him a perfect fit for Sampson and Houston. He finished fourth in the country in rebounds per game last year. Houston has finished in the top 10 in the Big 12 for rebounding each of the last three seasons, and has had a top 5 unit on KenPom in adjusted defensive efficiency in four of the last five seasons.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Five transfer portal best fits of players outside top 50 portal rankings