Xavier has tripled basketball budget for 2026-27 season | Report

Head coach Richard Pitino was confident in the school's plan to improve its NIL going into next season.

That aligns with what's already visible on paper and be visible on the court later this year.

In 247Sports' ranking of transfer portal hauls, Xavier is No. 16 in the nation. Xavier is No. 1 in On3Sports' list of incoming portal classes after adding a seventh transfer, Drake guard Braden Appelhans, on Thursday, May 7.

It's a transfer portal class that would have been difficult, if not impossible, without a significant infusion of resources.

Xavier opened the craziness of the portal by adding three productive high-major transfers − Mike Nwoko (LSU), Rubén Dominguez (Texas A&M) and Tru Washington (Miami, Fla.) − over a four-day span. Last year, Xavier added just one high-major transfer, Virginia big man Anthony Robinson, who averaged 2.3 points in 26 games.

Five of Xavier's seven portal additions were double-digit scorers last season (Southern Illinois transfer Rolyns Aligbe averaged 9.5). High-level, productive transfers don't come cheap in the modern era, and Xavier's ability this spring to land multiple impact players signals a clear shift in roster-building strategy to invest or get left behind.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Xavier has tripled basketball budget for 2026-27 season | Report