Ranking the top 20 men's basketball players to enter the transfer portal

The buzzer sounded on Michigan's national championship win over UConn just before 11:20 p.m. on Monday. About forty minutes later, the transfer portal was open. Ten hours after that, more than 1,000 Division I men's basketball players had added their names to the portal.

After closing with around 2,100 players in 2024 and nearly 2,700 players last year, most coaches expect this season's portal entrants to surpass the 3,000 mark. The NCAA enacted rule changes earlier this year that changed the transfer portal window in all sports. In men's basketball, it will be open for two weeks, from April 7 to April 21.

Bookmark this page to stay updated on the top players in the portal -- and analysis on their commitments -- as we ultimately expand to 100 names in the coming days and weeks.

Last updated: 5 p.m. ET on April 7

1. Flory Bidunga, 6-10, PF, Soph.

Transferring from Kansas

Bidunga was one of the bigger breakout stars of the 2025-26 season, jumping from an average of 5.9 points and 5.4 rebounds to 13.3 points and 9.0 rebounds, adding 2.6 blocks per game. He established himself as one of college basketball's elite post defenders while shooting 64% from the floor and tallying 13 double-doubles. Plug-and-play player who has already won all-conference honors in the Big 12.

2. John Blackwell, 6-4, SG, Jr.

Transferring from Wisconsin

Blackwell should be one of the most explosive scorers in the country next season. He averaged 19.1 points and 5.1 rebounds for the Badgers this season while improving his consistency on the perimeter to make nearly 39% of his 3-point attempts. After playing off the ball next to Nick Boyd at Wisconsin, Blackwell wants to be more of a playmaker at his next stop.

3. Juke Harris, 6-7, SG, Soph.

Transferring from Wake Forest

One of the nation's elite scorers, Harris enjoyed a breakout season in Winston-Salem. He jumped from averaging 6.1 points as a freshman to averaging 21.4 as a sophomore, ranking in the top 20 nationally in that category. Harris had three performances of 30-plus points, including 38 points in 39 minutes against Boston College.

4. Paulius Murauskas, 6-8, F, Jr.

Transferring from Saint Mary's

Murauskas entered the portal shortly after Randy Bennett left Saint Mary's for Arizona State. The Lithuanian forward earned All-West Coast Conference honors in each of the last two seasons, averaging 18.4 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists in the 2025-26 campaign. Murauskas began his career at Arizona.

5. Stefan Vaaks, 6-7, SG, Fr.

Transferring from Providence

A surprise freshman star, Vaaks is a versatile perimeter weapon who has great positional size and can impact as a playmaker or a scorer. The Estonia native averaged nearly 16 points per game to go with 3.2 assists and scored 20-plus points against St. John's (twice), Villanova (twice) and UConn.

6. Isaiah Johnson, 6-1, G, Fr.

Transferring from Colorado

An All-Big 12 honorable mention, Johnson was another surprise freshman. The Los Angeles native opened his career with 24 points against Montana State and barely slowed down the rest of the way. He had huge performances against BYU (27 points) and Arizona (28 points) to average 16.9 points and 3.0 assists over the season.

7. Jackson Shelstad, 6-1, PG, Jr.

Transferring from Oregon

Shelstad was on his way to becoming one of the best guards in the Big Ten before suffering a hand injury in December that limited him to 12 games. He averaged 15.6 points and 4.9 assists to that point, coming off a sophomore campaign in which he earned third-team All-Big Ten honors.

8. Acaden Lewis, 6-2, PG, Fr.

Transferring from Villanova

Lewis decommitted from Kentucky last spring, switched his Wildcats allegiance to Villanova, then performed like one of the better first-year point guards in the country. He averaged 12.2 points, 3.0 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.9 steals, finishing with seven games of 20-plus points. Improvement as a 3-point shooter would allow him to take the next step.

9. Moustapha Thiam, 7-2, C, Soph.

Transferring from Cincinnati

Thiam showed a tremendously high ceiling down the stretch of his sophomore campaign at Cincinnati. He had a three-game stretch in February in which he had 28 points and eight rebounds against Kansas, 21 points and 10 boards against Texas Tech and 24 points and 15 rebounds against Oklahoma State. He averaged 12.8 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.6 blocks on the season.

10. Markus Burton, 6-0, PG, Jr.

Transferring from Notre Dame

Burton has missed a large part of each of the last two seasons with injuries, but he's produced every year he's been on the floor. In 69 total games over three seasons in South Bend, Burton averaged 19.1 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.8 assists while shooting just a tick above 33% from 3-point range.

11. Donnie Freeman, 6-9, PF, Soph.

Transferring from Syracuse

A former top-10 recruit in the 2024 high school class, Freeman put together two productive seasons at Syracuse. This past season, he averaged 16.5 points and 7.2 rebounds, earning honorable mention All-ACC honors. Freeman was hampered by an injury in non-conference play but put up six different games of 22-plus points against ACC opponents.

12. Miles Byrd, 6-6, SG, Jr.

Transferring from San Diego State

Byrd withdrew from the NBA draft last spring to return to San Diego State, where he cemented himself as one of the most versatile defensive players in the country. He posted more than three combined blocks and steals per game while averaging double-figures in scoring for the second season in a row.

13. Terrence Hill Jr., 6-3, SG, Soph.

Transferring from VCU

Hill undoubtedly boosted his stock with his performance against North Carolina in the first round of the NCAA tournament. He led VCU to a 19-point comeback and upset victory with 34 points, 5 rebounds and five assists. He earned first-team All-Atlantic 10 honors this past season, averaging 15.0 points while shooting 37% from 3.

14. Dedan Thomas Jr., 6-1, PG, Jr.

Transferring from LSU

A hand injury limited Thomas to just 16 games in Baton Rouge, but he'll be one of the most sought-after portal point guards in the country. He averaged 15.3 points and 6.5 assists at LSU and had the Tigers in the postseason hunt when healthy. Thomas began his career with two seasons at UNLV.

15. Sananda Fru, 6-11, C, Jr.

Transferring from Louisville

Analytics models love Fru for his incredible efficiency: the Germany native shot better than 75% from the field while averaging 9.0 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in just 22 minutes per game. Most of his big games came in the first half of this past season, but he's an immediate-impact play two-way starting big man at the high-major level.

16. KJ Lewis, 6-4, SG, Jr.

Transferring from Georgetown

Lewis is in the portal for the second year in a row. He left Arizona for a more sizable role on the offensive end, and he found that at Georgetown, averaging nearly 15 points per game while improving as a shooter from 3-point range. The All-Big East selection brings physicality and toughness on the defensive end, too.

17. Neoklis Avdalas, 6-9, G, Fr.

Transferring from Virginia Tech

Avdalas posted 33 points, 5 rebounds and six assists in his second career college game, looking every bit the part of a first-round pick in a win over Providence. While he was unable to replicate that type of performance the rest of the way, there's still plenty of potential with his combination of size and skill. Avdalas averaged 12.1 points and 4.6 rebounds this past season.

18. Aiden Sherrell, 6-10, PF, Soph.

Transferring from Alabama

Nate Oats expanded Sherrell's role this past season. He was one of the best bigs in the SEC in conference play, improving from an average of 3.4 points and 2.8 rebounds to 11.1 points and 6.2 rebounds. He had 15 points and 15 rebounds in an NCAA tournament win over Hofstra; he also went for 26 points and 13 rebounds in a February win over Arkansas.

19. Somtochukwu Cyril, 6-11, C, Soph.

Transferring from Georgia

The Nigerian center made strides at both ends of the floor from his freshman to sophomore seasons in Athens, averaging 9.3 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.2 blocks this past campaign while shooting nearly 76% from the field. He's one of the best rim protectors in college basketball. He also scored in double-figures 10 times in SEC play.

20. Matt Able, 6-6, SG, Fr.

Transferring from NC State

The former top-25 recruit also entered the NBA draft as an alternative to the portal. Able entered this past season as a potential one-and-done first-rounder but had an inconsistent season in Raleigh under Will Wade. Able showed flashes of his potential throughout the campaign, ultimately averaging 8.8 points and shooting 35.5% from 3-point range.