2025-26 Transfer Portal Winners and Losers: Louisville, Duke, Kentucky, and the Teams That Fell Short

The men's college basketball transfer portal cycle has officially closed, and the reshuffling of rosters produced some dramatic shifts in title contender status. Louisville and Tennessee emerged as co-claimants for the best overall portal class, with Pat Kelsey's Cardinals landing a group headlined by Kansas big man Flory Bidunga — who averaged 13.3 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks per game — alongside All-Big Ten guard Jackson Shelstad, Iowa's Alvaro Folgueiras, and guard De'Shayne Montgomery. Tennessee countered with five transfers ranked inside the top 60, including Wake Forest scorer Juke Harris and Notre Dame forward Jalen Haralson, who averaged 16.2 points as a freshman.

Kentucky's single best individual addition belongs to Milan Momcilovic from the portal, rated the top transfer available. The 6-foot-8 shooter led the country in 3-point percentage at 48.7% and ranked tied for third nationally with 3.7 made threes per game, giving Mark Pope's offense the elite perimeter threat it needed. Pope has also added point guards Zoom Diallo and Alex Wilkins, whose attacking style should generate open looks for Momcilovic — a combination that vaulted Kentucky into the top 20 of early polls.

For national title contenders, Duke made the most significant leap by landing Wisconsin guard John Blackwell, who averaged 19.1 points and posted back-to-back 30-point games in the Big Ten tournament. Jon Scheyer's Blue Devils were already a preseason top-5 caliber team, but lacked a reliable half-court shot creator — Blackwell fills that void directly. St. John's, meanwhile, landed a massive coup when Baylor wing Tounde Yessoufou withdrew from the NBA draft and signed with Rick Pitino, elevating the Red Storm into the top 10 after losing nearly 50 points per game in production, including Big East Player of the Year Zuby Ejiofor.

On the losing side, Kansas faces the steepest rebuild. After Bidunga, Bryson Tiller, and Melvin Council Jr. all departed, Bill Self's only returning contributor is Kohl Rosario at 3.4 points per game. Self is leaning heavily on five-star freshmen Tyran Stokes and Taylen Kinney — a risky bet in an increasingly veteran-dominated Big 12. Wake Forest also draws scrutiny: coach Steve Forbes, once celebrated as a portal genius, is returning just one player and added only one top-100 transfer in Kevair Kennedy (18.4 PPG at Merrimack), leaving a roster that looks thin on paper.

Among the surprises, Missouri's Dennis Gates assembled one of the program's strongest-ever classes by blending five-star freshmen Jason Crowe and Toni Bryant with veterans like Kansas transfer Bryson Tiller and Tennessee transfer Jaylen Carey — a rare combination of blue-chip youth and battle-tested experience. West Virginia also stands out, with Ross Hodge surrounding five-star freshman point guard Miles Sadler with proven scorers Finley Bizjack and Joson Sanon, plus former top-30 recruit Mouhamed Sylla, whose ceiling remains sky-high after injuries derailed his debut season.