Jeff BorzelloApr 9, 2026, 08:00 PM ETClose Basketball recruiting insider. Joined ESPN in 2014. Graduate of University of Delaware.Follow on XMultiple Authors
Flory Bidunga rocks the rim with jam (0:16)Flory Bidunga rocks the rim with jam (0:16)
After the portal drew 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.
Bidunga was one of the bigger breakout stars of the 2025-26 season, jumping from averages of 5.9 points and 5.4 rebounds to 13.3 points and 9.0 rebounds, and 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. He’s a plug-and-play player who has already won all-conference honors in the Big 12.
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.
Wright was one of the most electric point guards in the country this past season, earning third-team All-Big 12 honors after averaging 18.1 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.6 assists while shooting 41% from 3. He had five games of at least 25 points in Big 12 play, including 39 against Colorado in February. He started his career at Baylor.
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.
Haggerty will head to his fifth school in as many seasons, but he proved at each of his last three stops that he can produce at a high level, averaging 21.0 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.6 assists over the course of his career. He hit career highs in scoring (23.4 PPG) and assists (3.8 APG) at Kansas State in 2025-26.
Punch was one of TCU’s breakout stars who helped the Horned Frogs get back to the NCAA tournament this past season. He was an All-Big 12 honorable mention after averaging 14.1 points and 6.8 rebounds, and he’s a defensive playmaker, posting a combined 3.2 blocks and steals per game. He is physical, creates mismatches and does a little bit of everything.
Murauskas entered the portal shortly after Randy Bennett left Saint Mary’s to be the coach at Arizona State. The Lithuanian forward earned All-West Coast Conference honors in each of the past two seasons, averaging 18.4 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists in the 2025-26 campaign. Murauskas began his career at Arizona.
A surprise freshman star, Vaaks is a versatile perimeter weapon who has great positional size and can make an 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.
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.
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.
An All-Big 12 honorable mention, Johnson was another surprising 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.
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.
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 nonconference play but put up six games of 22-plus points against ACC opponents.
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.
Avdalas posted 33 points, five 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. Although 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.
Burton has missed a large part of each of the past two seasons with injuries, but he has produced every year he has 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.
The Senegal native was a revelation during his first season in Tempe, averaging 13.6 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.1 blocks, emerging as a legitimate NBA draft prospect in the process. He flashed consistently early in Big 12 play, including a three-game stretch to start January over which he averaged 21.0 points and 8.0 rebounds.
Coach Nate Oats expanded Sherrell’s role this past season. He was one of the best bigs in SEC 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.
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, five rebounds and five assists. He earned first-team All-Atlantic 10 honors this past season, averaging 15.0 points while shooting 37% from 3.
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.
The older brother of top-10 North Carolina commit Dylan Mingo, Kayden quickly emerged as one of the more productive first-year point guards in the country. He averaged 14.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.5 steals over his first 14 games before missing three games with an injury. He wasn’t quite as effective down the stretch but still had 24 points against Oregon.
McNeil had a breakout campaign under Will Wade in Raleigh, jumping from 4.2 points as a freshman to 13.8 as a sophomore. He established himself as one of the elite shooters in college basketball, making nearly 43% of his 3-point attempts while taking more than seven per game. He had a 47-point game against Texas Southern in December.
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.
Khamenia came out of high school as a top-15 recruit but primarily came off the bench as a freshman at Duke. He averaged 5.7 points and 3.3 rebounds on the season but saw an increased role in the ACC tournament, during which he averaged 10.7 points on 41.7% shooting from 3 to go with 5.7 rebounds when the Blue Devils were down two starters.
A former McDonald’s All American, Haralson became a consistent producer for the Fighting Irish from day one. He scored in double figures in all but three games this past season, including five 20-point efforts over his final nine contests. Nearly all of his production comes inside the arc and from the free throw line, making just five 3s all season.
Wilkinson has now proved himself as a capable high-major scorer at two different schools in two different conferences. He averaged 15.1 points at California as a freshman then led Georgia in scoring at 17.4 points per game as a sophomore. He also improved his efficiency, jumping out to nearly 36% from 3-point range.
Estrella was one of the most efficient post players in the SEC this past season, averaging 10.0 points and 5.4 rebounds despite starting just 13 games and playing a little more than 18 minutes per game. He shot nearly 60% from the field and was one of the elite offensive rebounders in the country. He should still have two years of eligibility after missing nearly all of the 2024-25 season with a foot injury.
Yigitoglu has been one of the more consistent big men in the ACC over the past two seasons. He averaged double-figure scoring both years but improved his efficiency (63% from the field) and rebounding (7.9 RPG) this season. He scored in double figures in eight of his final nine regular-season games, missing a total of 19 shots during that stretch.