We have our Sweet 16 locked! And while that should’ve been the biggest focus for college hoops fans right now, the buzz has shifted—big time—to the transfer portal. And honestly, how could it not? Just look at the impact in recent years: Hunter Dickinson, Hailey Van Lith, Kiki Iriafen, to name a few, all game-changers through the portal. It’s no longer just a secondary storyline; it’s become THE turning point for teams and players alike.
But this time, things hit differently. Why? First, the NCAA decided to tweak the process. The portal opened a week later than last year, meaning it no longer overlapped with the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament. Oh, and they also shrunk the transfer window from 45 days to just 30. (opened on March 24 and will close on April 22.)
Now, here’s the real difference. The sheer volume of names entering the portal. You remember last year’s madness, right? Nearly 300 names flooded in on Day 1, setting a record. Well, guess what? That record is toast.
On opening day, approx. 750 players entered the transfer portal. Add in the 226 who were already in due to coaching changes or grad transfer status (which doesn’t follow the same rules), and currently, per CBS, the number has already surpassed 1000. Yes, THOUSAND players!
More than 1,000 players have now entered the transfer portal since it opened Monday morning.
— Travis Branham (@TravisBranham_) March 26, 2025
For context, last year’s total by the time the portal closed was around 2,100. And we’re already halfway there. That also accounts for approximately 16% of all D1 scholarship players. Now, you might be wondering, what’s driving this? Well, NIL, obviously. With more money on the table than ever before, no player or program is off-limits. This could easily turn into the most talent-loaded transfer cycle we’ve ever seen.
As for names to watch, on the men’s side: Donovan Dent (New Mexico), Tucker DeVries (West Virginia), Justin Pippen (Michigan), Quimari Peterson (ETSU), Nick Davidson (Nevada), Jalil Bethea (Miami) and many more. For the women: Serah Williams, Taliah Scott (Auburn), Rachael Rose (Wofford), Katie Davidson (IU Indy), Caitlin Weimar (NC State), just to highlight a few.
And that’s just scratching the surface. So, all we can say is this transfer portal season is about to be wilder than we’ve ever seen.
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