2026 Transfer portal

[Dillon77]

As I read your post it dawned on me that the shorter portal window and the massive number of transfers, in some cases wiping out most of a team’s roster, creates a significant short-term window for some transfers to maximize their financial opportunity.

A player (hired gun) like Smikle gets a few calls from, let’s say TN, Iowa St & UGA. She or her agent can throw out a number they want and tell the coach, “Meet that number and I’m yours.” On the other hand she can whipsaw a bunch of schools to get the highest number and then commit. Either way, if you don’t really care much where you end up, there’s money to be made.

Bingo. That works for the "hired gun" approach, for sure.
Then there's players like shooting guard Rylie Theuerkauf or forward Grace Oliver, who prior to the transfer portal and NIL, were either the types to go to a mid-major and star (think Anna DeWolf at Fordham) or would develop into a solid player, like Maddie Cable at Notre Dame.

Now:

• Theurerkauf: Wake Forest to Georgia to ????
• Oliver: Colorado to Wake Forest to ????

They won't get the pay that the other two did.
The odd part is the Wake Connection: if Theuerkauf had stuck around and Oliver had joined, Wake might've made enough progress for them all to stick around. But developmental seems out: everybody is, to paraphrase the late, great Warren Zevon, "lookin' for the next best thing." But what is that thing?

 

[Centerstream]

Every time I see a portal entry that I think UConn might be interested (based totally on opinion), my first thought is her tattoo situation. I know that the situation has changed a bit ever since Gabby (?), it seems that they still need to be covered or close to unnoticeable (Ashlynn, Allie).

 

[cancontent]

There was speculation this would happen. Her career hampered by injuries reduced the impact she could have had. 😔

 

[southie]

No idea but I am hearing HOT portal rumors about Texas, and not in the arrival kind of way.

"Hearing" (as in someone verbally told you) or "reading" the rumors on twitter like the rest of us? There's a huge difference.

 

[TRest]

I never understand what these messages mean. If you feel like what you wrote, you should not try to bolt.

Can't question God's Plan.

 

[southie]

Good luck to her. Loved her work ethic and personality. She was not part of the Texas basketball program or enrolled at Texas this past year as far as I know.

 

[Bone Dog]

Didn't she originally commit then de-commit to UCLA? and go to Arizona.

I don’t think Jada ever received an offer from Cori. Instead she posted a bunch of videos that seemed designed to induce an offer. When it didn’t materialize, she followed her ha friend Breya Cunningham to Arizona. When that was nolises it was off to ISU.

 

[bballnut90]

There was speculation this would happen. Her career hampered by injuries reduced the impact she could have had. 😔

She was fun to watch when healthy. Hopefully she comes back and has a strong senior year wherever she ends up.

 

[Bjbod]

I don't think she takes Jada Williams. Solid player but Jada moving around as much as she has is a big red flag. Guessing Close learned her lesson after the Barker experiment last season.

Iowa brought in Jada for a visit last portal season. Unproven opinion (from reasonable source) seems to indicate chemistry wasn't 100%. This doesn't point to either party as being 'wrong', just potentially not a good match. FWIW.

 

[Bone Dog]

She was fun to watch when healthy. Hopefully she comes back and has a strong senior year wherever she ends up.

She could contribute at Storrs. Work ethic. Big and strong. Mobile. Excellent teammate. There’s a lot to like about her.

 

[HuskyNan]

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

Iowa brought in Jada for a visit last portal season. Unproven opinion (from reasonable source) seems to indicate chemistry wasn't 100%. This doesn't point to either party as being 'wrong', just potentially not a good match. FWIW.

To the post you were answering - she hasn't moved around a lot. She was doing ok at Arizona till Adia left and all the team portalled out. Went to Iowa State and most of that team has now abandoned ship. So that isn't a red flag.

That said, Jada was a smart cookie - she got frustrated with teammates who were less clear on the play that was called - Arizona had a lot of that. She is an extremely streaky shooter. Apparently she is not everyone's cup of tea. But in terms of play, she would be an asset most places, but of course not all as a starter.

 

[southie]

To the post you were answering - she hasn't moved around a lot. She was doing ok at Arizona till Adia left and all the team portalled out. Went to Iowa State and most of that team has now abandoned ship. So that isn't a red flag.

That said, Jada was a smart cookie - she got frustrated with teammates who were less clear on the play that was called - Arizona had a lot of that. She is an extremely streaky shooter. Apparently she is not everyone's cup of tea. But in terms of play, she would be an asset most places, but of course not all as a starter.

I've wondered this since it happened, but why did she choose Iowa State? Even though she played her last two seasons of high school in San Diego, CA, I see that she now considers Missouri as her home state. Other than proximity, I couldn't figure out why she chose ISU.

 

[southie]

I'd completely forgotten about Gilbert being at LSU

 

[Stagnant]

 

[hoopsdiva]

Oh no!!! After all the work she's put in to overcome her injuries, I wish her nothing but the very best.

 

[CTGirl15]

Super unfortunate as a UConn fan, but understandable from her perspective.

 

[WBBZen]

Expected at this point. Hope she finds a fit where she can get good minutes.

 

[Stagnant]

Super unfortunate as a UConn fan, but understandable from her perspective.

Oh totally understandable. A top 5 recruit. Still needs some development. And wants to go somewhere where that development can take place on the basketball court.

By all accounts a great kid. I wish her the best. 👏

 

[Rooster C.]

It's EXTREMELY early in the portal but the leaders in the P4 so far are:

10 - Pitt (coaching change)
9 - Penn State (coaching change)
9 - Okla. State
9 - Iowa State (possibly 10)
8 - Miami (really 7 as Peterson left the team after 5 games)
7 - Tennessee (there's only 2 players left from last year's roster)
7 - Arizona
6 - UCF (coaching change)
6 - Indiana
6 - Purdue

5 - Wake Forest, Cincinnati, Houston, Alabama (coaching change), Arkansas, Georgia ( probably 8/coaching change), Miss. State

4 - Utah(possibly 5), Virginia Tech, Syracuse, Stanford(possibly 5), Louisville, Boston College (coaching change), Oregon



* As of 4 A.M. Day #1 the following schools have NO players in the portal :
UCLA, SC, Vandy,Michigan, Ohio St, Duke, Notre Dame, Texas Tech, Kansas, and GT. Possibly Texas A&M. (UConn)
Texas, TCU, and Colorado have potentially 2 each going in.

Updated:
13 - Pitt
10 - Iowa State
9 - Penn State
9 - Oklahoma State
9 - Georgia
9 - Arkansas
8 - Tennessee
8 - Miami
8 - Florida
8 - UCF
7 - Arizona
7 - Alabama
7 - Syracuse
7 - Purdue
6 - Indiana, Cincinnati, Utah, Boston College, Virginia
5 - Houston, Mississippi State, Stanford, Missouri, Iowa
4 - Virginia Tech, Louisville, Oregon, Maryland, SMU
3 - Auburn, Minnesota, Michigan State, NC State, Rutgers, USC, Nebraska, Washington, Arizona State, Kansas State, Colorado
2 - Ole Miss, Kentucky, Illinois, Baylor, North Carolina, Florida State, Georgia Tech, TCU, Kansas, LSU, Northwestern
1 - Cal, Wisconsin, West Virginia, BYU, Clemson, Texas, Texas A&M, Ohio State, Michigan, Texas Tech, Duke, UConn

0 - Vandy, South Carolina, UCLA, Notre Dame

 

[CTGirl15]

Oh totally understandable. A top 5 recruit. Still needs some development. And wants to go somewhere where that development can take place on the basketball court.

By all accounts a great kid. I wish her the best. 👏

Absolutely! I am so glad she was able to come back from her injuries and play again this year, wishing her nothing but the best!

 

[jdote33]

Expected at this point. Hope she finds a fit where she can get good minute

Happy for her. I really wish Caroline Ducharme could get a year back. Not to speculate on transferring because I believe she's out of eligibility. More so it's a bummer that she worked her way back to play 9 games and it takes away a year of eligibility in this Nil era. She's played less than 100 games in her college career. Obviously she got a natty that year but still.