College Basketball Transfer Portal: Top Commitments and Players Available
Recruiting isn't really a thing anymore in college basketball. It is just full-on free agency. The advancement in NIL has led to a lot of year-over-year turnover at most schools, and is a requirement if a program wants to land some of the best players in the transfer portal. There has definitely been some player empowerment, with athletes now believing they hold a certain value, and schools and boosters having to load up if they want to put out the most competitive roster they can next season. We are past the one-and-done era. If you want to compete at the top of college basketball, those moves are made via the transfer portal.
If you can believe, it we are nearly a month into the basketball transfer window that runs from March 18-May 1. There's certainly been plenty of moves made already, but plenty more still to come over these next couple weeks. With that, let's look at some of the most impactful commitments made so far and some of the top names still available.
Most Impactful Commitments
PJ Haggerty, G, Memphis
Year: Redshirt Sophomore
2023-24 Stats: 21.2 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 3.8 APG, 1.9 SPG
Haggerty played in just six games at TCU before taking a redshirt. Nobody could have predicted the leap he would take once transferring to Tulsa. He would go on to be the second-leading scorer in the AAC at 21.2 PPG and now will presumably team up with the leading scorer, David Jones (21.8 PPG), giving Memphis a powerful 1-2 offensive attack. Haggerty is not just a scorer, however, he is fully capable of running an offense and is also able to lock down the opposing team's best perimeter player. Memphis also adds Colby Rogers (16.4 PPG) from Wichita State and Dain Dainja from Illinois, who has shown the ability to control the paint when given the opportunity. With Florida Atlantic coach Dusty May leaving for Michigan, Penny Hardaway and Memphis should be in the heavy favorites to win the AAC thanks to their offseason additions, the most impactful being Haggerty.
Tucker DeVries, F, West Virginia
Year: Senior
2023-24 Stats: 21.6 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 3.7 APG, 2.6 3PM, 1.6 SPG
The coaching hiring of Darian DeVries was a strong one for West Virginia. Not just because he took Drake to the NCAA Tournament three of the last four years, but also because he was able to take his son Tucker with him and give the Mountaineers one of the best available players in the transfer portal. DeVries is coming off a junior season that saw him average career highs across the board. He ranked top-12 in the MVC in points, rebounding, assists, steals and three-pointers. While it's difficult to imagine DeVries putting up those numbers in such a great defensive conference like the Big 12, as things stand right now, WVU doesn't have much of a roster at all. Noah Farrakhan (7.7 PPG), Kobe Johnson (6.0 PPG) and Ofri Naveh (2.6 PPG) are the only rotation players returning, and the Mountaineers haven't added anyone else in the transfer portal (yet).
Zeke Mayo, G, Kansas
Year: Senior
2023-24 Stats: 18.8 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 3.5 APG, 2.6 3PM, 1.1 SPG
The last great South Dakota State transfer in Baylor Scheierman made quite an impact right out of the gate with his new power conference school, and Jayhawk fans are hoping the same can be said of Mayo this coming season. Mayo is actually a Lawrence native and is exactly the type of player Kansas was missing all of last season at the shooting guard position. The 6-4 senior is a confident shooter from deep, both off the dribble and off the pass, shooting 39.1 percent from three. He also gives Kansas a reliable secondary ball-handler alongside Dajuan Harris. With KJ Adams also announcing his return and potentially the return of Hunter Dickinson and/or Johnny Furphy, Mayo could be the final piece missing for coach Bill Self to make a return to a Final Four in 2025. Depth shouldn't be an issue this season for the Jayhawks, with the team also adding another nice wing in Riley Kugel from Florida and three top-50 freshman recruits.
Oumar Ballo, C, Indiana
Year: Graduate Student
2023-24 Stats: 12.9 PPG, 10.1 RPG, 1.3 BPG
Ballo decided to make the move from Arizona after being one of the better centers in the country for the last two seasons. While his scoring slipped slightly last season with the addition of Caleb Love, Ballo was able to average a double-double and shoot nearly 66 percent from the floor. It should be a seamless transition at Indiana with Kel'el Ware departing for the NBA Draft. Ballo will have a scoring power forward alongside him in Malik Reneau (15.4 PPG) and a great incoming point guard in Washington State transfer Myles Rice (14.8 PPG, 3.8 APG). The team also brings back former five-star recruit Mackenzie Mgbako (12.2 PPG) and has incoming five-star recruit Bryson Tucker. Add in some other solid returning depth pieces and there really is no excuses for Mike Woodson to miss the NCAA Tournament again in 2025.
Dug McDaniel, G, Kansas State
Year: Junior
2023-24 Stats: 16.3 PPG, 4.7 APG, 3.7 RPG, 2.2 3PM, 1.1 SPG
There was a little concern that right after McDaniel committed to Kansas State that Jerome Tang was going to turn around and accept the Arkansas job, but obviously things went in a different direction. Coach Tang has started a nice culture in the "Little Apple" and I'm very excited to see what he does with a player like McDaniel considering the success undersized guards like Markquis Nowell (17.6 PPG, 8.3 APG) and Tylor Perry (15.3 PPG, 4.4 APG) have had in this system the last two years. McDaniel was Michigan's best player last season, and that was despite not being able to play in a handful of road games for academic purposes. Those issues shouldn't come up at Kansas State, and he should be poised for a big season with a lot of production to pick up with both Perry and Cam Carter (14.6 PPG) leaving. Arthur Kaluma (14.4 PPG), David N'Guessan (7.8 PPG) and Dai Dai Ames (5.2 PPG) are expected to return, however, and the team also adds UIC transfer CJ Jones (11.4 PPG) and top-50 recruit David Castillo.
Best Players Still Available
Johnell Davis, G, Florida Atlantic
Year: Graduate Student
2023-24 Stats: 18.2 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 2.9 APG, 1.7 3PM, 1.4 SPG
Davis came to prominence during FAU's NCAA Tournament run in 2023 when he led the team to a Final Four and averaged 15.4 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 2.8 APG and 1.6 SPG during the tournament. He picked right up last season with largely the same pieces around him at FAU and was named AAC Co-Player of the Year. Davis took a big step as an outside scorer hitting on 41.4 percent of his three-point attempts in 2023-24. He is the total package and has the feel for the game that any power conference team would love to have. Davis is testing the NBA Draft process, but is expected to return for one more year of college. Michigan is obviously going to be the place people are watching with coach Dusty May accepting the Wolverines job last month.
AJ Storr, G, Wisconsin
Year: Junior
2023-24 Stats: 16.8 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 1.3 3PM
Storr was an excellent pickup in the last transfer portal cycle for Wisconsin and helped the Badgers have one of their best offensive seasons in some time. His 16.8 PPG ranked seventh-best in the Big Ten, and now he will be looking for his third school in as many years. Storr is one of the best "just go get a bucket" guys in the transfer portal, and he shouldn't have any shortage of teams looking to add him to their roster. One thing to watch is that he three-point shooting fell off by over eight percentage points this season down to 32 percent. In the right system with some more offensive spacing, Storr will likely learn how to become more efficient on offense and also develop as a passer. Kansas was rumored to have been a potential landing spot for Storr, but Arkansas actually makes a little more sense, as coach John Calipari looks to completely rebuild this Razorbacks roster with a lot of NIL money to work with. There are worse places to start than with a proven wing scorer like Storr.
Clifford Omoruyi, C, Rutgers
Year: Graduate Student
2023-24 Stats: 10.4 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 2.9 BPG
Omoruyi saw his scoring and rebounding numbers drop as a senior last year, but he did average a career-high 2.9 BPG, which led the Big Ten. Some of that can be contributed to the fact that Rutgers was 298th in offensive efficiency and fifth in defensive efficiency, per KenPom. Omoruyi picks an interesting time to move on from Rutgers with the Scarlet Knights bringing in two top-five recruits in Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey, but with just one more year of eligibility left, this was probably the best move for Omoruyi if he wants a shot at the NBA. Omoruyi is reportedly considering 12 schools. The most interesting fits on the list would be UNC, Baylor and Oregon. All of them are expected to lose key big men and would be great places for Omoruyi to continue to develop on the offensive end.
Great Osobor, F, Utah State
Year: Senior
2023-24 Stats: 17.7 PPG, 9.0 RPG, 2.8 APG, 1.4 BPG, 1.3 SPG
Osobor was a revelation last season for Utah State after coming over from Montana State. He was the Mountain West Player of the Year and helped lead the Aggies to a regular season championship in coach Danny Sprinkle's first year with the school (he ultimately took the Washington job this offseason). Osobor just flashes so much skill offensively in the post and is as active a defender in the frontcourt as you will find in the transfer portal. The senior doesn't really have the outside shot to play power forward and is a bit on the shorter end for a center at 6-8. That being said, Osobor competes as hard as anyone down low at 250 pounds, and there are plenty of coaches certainly hoping they get the chance to have him for a season. Osobor followed Sprinkle from Montana State to Utah State, so there's at least a decent chance he decides to follow him again to Washington in its first year in the Big Ten.
Rylan Griffen, G, Alabama
Year: Junior
2023-24 Stats: 11.2 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 2.1 3PM, 1.9 APG
Griffen made a seamless transition into a starting spot this season and played a big role in helping Alabama to the Final Four. Griffen is one of the top perimeter shooters available in the transfer portal, averaging over two makes per game for the Crimson Tide and shooting nearly 40 percent from the outside. In the right situation, this former top-50 recruit has NBA upside as he continues to refine the rest of his game. Griffen wasn't asked to do much on the defensive end of the floor at Alabama, but that will likely be something he needs to focus on wherever he goes next season. Kansas appears to be the leader in the clubhouse for Griffen. That would certainly give a jolt to a team that struggled to shoot the three last season, especially if Johnny Furphy leaves for the draft.
Stay up to date on both the NCAAB transfer portal and NBA Draft declarations with the latest college basketball player news on RotoWire. Our college basketball depth charts are also updated with the latest in roster movement.
