When you’re in as loaded of a conference like the Big 12, the transfer portal can be the difference between swimming or sinking.
Whether it’s the NBA Draft or looking for a new program, prominent names are out and there’s a need to restock. Like how does Final Four participant Arizona get back after losing its core players? There’s also teams under new coaches like Kansas State and Cincinnati looking for a complete rebuild. Every team went into the portal, but it won’t work perfectly for everyone.
So how did every Big 12 team fare in the transfer portal? We assess all 16 squads and look into how these additions — and losses — affect the 2026-27 season.
Who has best haul so far? College basketball transfer portal team rankings
Staying put: 10 most-important players who skipped basketball transfer portal
Arizona basketball transfer portal analysis
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Best add: Derek Dixon (North Carolina). It took some time, but Dixon really showcased how valuable he is when he started the final 16 games for the Tar Heels. He was lighting it from deep, and despite not being in the top five of minutes played, he made the second most 3-pointers (50) for North Carolina.
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Worst loss: Dwayne Aristode (Oregon). Arizona didn’t have many transfers, so Aristode isn’t a huge loss, but he still held up his end on a loaded roster. His defensive presence to help take the burden off the starters will be missed.
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Biggest remaining need: Replacing Koa Peat. When someone that can do everything on a court leaves, it’s hard to replicate it. Peat really was a freak of nature and trying to find another forward that can produce nearly as much as him will be difficult.
Arizona State basketball transfer portal analysis
Saint Mary’s Gaels forward Paulius Murauskas (23) shoots the ball against Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Jalen Warley (8) in the second half at McCarthey Athletic Center.
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Best add: Paulius Murauskas (Saint Mary’s). Randy Bennett gets an essential player to follow him to Arizona State. The first-team all-West Coast Conference selection is a matchup problem after he led Saint Mary’s with 18.4 points and 7.6 rebounds. The competition gets tougher, but Murauskas can thrive.
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Worst loss: Massamba Diop (Gonzaga). The Senegal native had a terrific transition to college hoops as the enforcer for the Sun Devils. He put up 13.6 ppg while his 2.1 blocks were top 25 in Division I, but a new regime was going to make it tough to convince the 7-1-inch center to stay.
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Biggest remaining need: Guard depth. Bennett is leaning heavy into veteran size and that should help the Sun Devils, but there’s plenty needed in the backcourt. Joel Foxwell (Portland) is the only legitimate option at the position, with a bunch of inexperienced guys vying to get more minutes.
Baylor basketball transfer portal analysis
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Best add: Kayden Mingo (Penn State). Mingo delivered as the highest-ranked Penn State recruit ever, dropping 13.7 points and 4.3 assists while averaging over 2 steals a game. He’s excellent at getting inside the arc, and he really found a rhythm in the second half of the season.
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Worst loss: Tounde Yessoufou. An absolute unit, Yessoufou broke a bunch of freshman records at Baylor. There was a good chance he was a one-and-done player, but the possibility of returning somewhere else hurts a Baylor team sinking in the Big 12.
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Biggest remaining need: Rim protection. Defense was a big liability, especially protecting the glass by limiting second-chance opportunities. Baylor addressed the holes in the offense, but there needs to be a dominant big able to go up against other imposing forces.
BYU basketball transfer portal analysis
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Best add: Collin Chandler (Kentucky). A breakout star on a middling Kentucky team, Chandler returns to his home state ready to take over the shooting needs the Cougars need. Making 41% of his 3-pointers puts him in the top 35 of deep-range shooters, and he had a hot streak where he had three games with at least five 3-pointers.
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Worst loss: Kennard Davis Jr. (Missouri): BYU has to really start from scratch with another starter leaving Provo. He didn’t command the attention, but he was hard to miss considering the hustle he brings on the court. Sure he wasn’t the primary ballhandler, but he didn’t turn the ball over much.
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Biggest remaining need: Bigs. One of the downfalls of BYU’s season was it didn’t have a big man that could hold down the fort. The Cougars are still without one, and given the increased importance in the position, Kevin Young needs a center that can stop the leaks in the roster.
Cincinnati basketball transfer portal analysis
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Best add: Myles Colvin (Wake Forest). Jerrod Calhoun is bringing a whole new squad, and Colvin looks like the one tasked as the leader for the Bearcats. The wing averaged 11.6 points and 4.4 rebounds per game last season, and he’s a reliable free throw shooter at 87%, a welcome sight for fans after being so bad from the charity stripe.
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Worst loss: Moustapha Thiam (Michigan). The writing was on the wall for Thiam to leave, and he’s now onto Ann Arbor after putting 12.8 points and 7.1 rebounds a game. His size jumps out, but he moves so well you forget he’s over 7-feet tall. He was a big reason Cincinnati’s defense was so good, limiting teams to under 50% shooting in the interior.
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Biggest remaining need: Defensive stalwarts. Calhoun is going for an offensive-minded team as he had at Utah State, but he has to remember you got to play defense in the Big 12 to make some noise. Several players will be going up against size they haven’t seen much of.
Colorado basketball transfer portal analysis
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Best add: Justin Neely (UNC Wilmington). What better way to fix the rebound struggles than getting a premier player on the boards? Neely’s 11.5 rpg last season was second-best in Division I, and he can also score (17.9). He really carried the Spartans on his back, so he has no problems being the star for the Buffaloes.
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Worst loss: Isaiah Johnson (Texas). Colorado was actually decent offensively last season thanks to Johnson doing about everything to keep the team afloat. He had nine games with at least 20 points. There was potential to build around him, but it left Tad Boyle having to find replacements that can strike on both sides of the ball.
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Biggest remaining need: Guards. Johnson’s departure leaves Colorado in desperate need of a backcourt that can produce and not leave it to the bigs to get the job done. Barrington Hargress can take on a bigger load, but it’s a risk leaving it all to him.
Houston basketball transfer portal analysis
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Best add: Dedan Thomas Jr. (LSU). A dynamic point guard, Thomas has always put up solid scoring numbers (14.6 career ppg) to go along with an impressive assists numbers, which included 6.5 assists at LSU. His season was limited to 15 games due to a foot injury.
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Worst loss: Isiah Harwell (Gonzaga). With such a talented roster last season, Harwell wasn’t able to get as much playing time as he could, but he performed well when he got on the court. The minutes dwindled as the season ended, but there was an opportunity for his role to expand and give Kelvin Sampson some continuity.
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Biggest remaining need: Shooters. There’s no doubt Houston will remain an elite defensive unit, but it will need an offense to help ease the stress. It’s top three 3-point shooters are gone, and there’s not a lot of proven deep threats on the roster.
Iowa State basketball transfer portal analysis
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Best add: Jaquan Johnson (Bradley). An absolute perfect fit for Iowa State, Johnson can do just about everything. He averaged 16.9 ppg and 3.6 apg while being able to score from anywhere on the court. As his nickname “Bully” suggests, he’s a bully on defense, with his 2.5 steals per game a factor in him earning MVC defensive player of the year.
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Worst loss: Milan Momcilovic. What a tremendous loss for the Cyclones as Momcilovic became college basketball’s deadliest shooter. He led the country with an astonishing 48.8% 3-point field goal percentage, a major reason Iowa State was a top 15 team from behind the arc. There is no way to replicate Momcilovic’s productivity on the court, leaving a big hole in Ames.
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Biggest remaining need: 3-point threats. T.J. Otzelberger did all he could to replenish his roster, but it’s going to be so tough to maintain the elite offense it had with Momcilovic leading the charge. Joshua Jefferson is also gone and he was dangerous from everywhere, so the Cyclones also need a big man that can score at that clip.
Kansas basketball transfer portal analysis
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Best add: Keanu Dawes (Utah). The transfer portal isn’t something Kansas heavily relies on given the high school talent it consistently draws, but it doesn’t hurt to get some complementary help. The Jayhawks didn’t get a program-changer, but Dawes is a solid addition after averaging 12.5 points with 8.8 rebounds at Utah. His athleticism is his best trait, able to stretch the floor and cause some mismatches for opponents.
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Worst loss: Flory Bidunga (Louisville). There may be no bigger portal loss than Bidunga, who was a monster for the Jayhawks that dominated the interior by swatting away about any shot near him (2.6 per game, fourth in Division I). His offense took a great leap last season and Kansas could be a real national contender had he stayed.
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Biggest remaining need: Scoring guards. The question remains of who replaces Darryn Peterson? The Jayhawks relied on him heavily when he did play, and it looks like Bill Self will rely on Leroy Blyden Jr. and Taylen Kinney right out of the gate.
Kansas State basketball transfer portal analysis
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Best add: Brandon Rechsteiner (Colorado State). Casey Alexander is bringing a whole new group to Kansas State, and the most intriguing addition is Rechsteiner. The son of the Steiner wrestling family, he’s an excellent 3-point shooter (40%) that is best suited not handling the ball, getting open and starting offensive flurries.
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Worst loss: PJ Haggerty (Texas A&M). A new staff made it obvious Haggerty would leave, but Kansas State could have used his offensive prowess. His 23.4 ppg was fourth-best in the country, and he still found ways to score against elite defensive teams, making him such a highly touted player.
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Biggest remaining need: Playmakers. The Wildcats have the roster, but can any of them command the ship? There’s a lot of unknowns into how this team will perform since there isn’t a sure-fire leader, meaning someone is going to have to step up and take on that role.
Oklahoma State basketball transfer portal analysis
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Best add: Julius Halaifonua (Georgetown). Someone who showed flashes of potential will get a chance to flourish in Stillwater in Halaifonua. The 7-footer from New Zealand saw his minutes go down late in the season with the Hoyas, but he was still efficient with 19.1 points per 40 minutes, all while shooting 60.8% from the field.
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Worst loss: Vyctorius Miller. Oklahoma State’s fast-paced offensive identity was aided with Miller, who was a solid 3-point shooter (37.5%) for the Cowboys out of the gate before he struggled in the second half as conference play was in full swing.
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Biggest remaining need: Perimeter defense. It doesn’t matter how much you score, it won’t matter when you can’t stop anyone, like Oklahoma State when it was 350th in scoring defense (83.2 ppg). Specifically, opponents were able to hit deep shots against the Cowboys. Reigning Conference USA defensive player of the year Kashie Natt (Sam Houston) will be the one tasked to help.
TCU basketball transfer portal analysis
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Best add: Gavin Sykes (Long Beach State). The Big West freshman of the year certainly knows how to score. Sykes put up 19.4 ppg, and had a run of five straight games with 20+ points, primed to be to go-to guy for TCU and help revive the offense.
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Worst loss: David Punch (Texas). It was a huge blow for Jaime Dixon to lose his true leader, who was tops in about every statistical category, including scoring (14.1) and rebounding (6.8). Punch knew how to step up his game against top tier opponents, and him leaving means TCU has to start from scratch.
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Biggest remaining need: Consistent offense. Dixon really has to find the right blend to make a solid offense after the Horned Frogs were one of the worst shooting teams in the country. Sykes and JUCO transfer Trent Lincoln will carry a much bigger burden than their previous stops.
Texas Tech basketball transfer portal analysis
Hofstra Pride guard Cruz Davis (5) dribbles in the second half against the Alabama Crimson Tide during a first round game of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Benchmark International Arena.
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Best add: Cruz Davis (Hofstra). This may be the most underrated transfer in the country. Davis is ready to command the national attention after he was the CAA Player of the Year with 20.1 points with 4.7 assists last season. He proved he can compete against Power conference programs, a strong sign it will be a seamless transition in Lubbock.
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Worst loss: LeJuan Watts (Washington). The forward earned his way into the lineup and had to step up when JT Toppin went down. Watts made good on his end, playing as forward that can do more than just play in the interior, and Texas Tech could have used the versatility.
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Biggest remaining need: Frontcourt. There’s uncertainty of when Toppin will return, meaning Texas Tech needs to fill the void until he comes back. That side of the roster has very limited experience, and asking someone to suddenly command the frontcourt is easier said than done.
UCF basketball transfer portal analysis
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Best add: Dior Johnson (Tarleton State). A familiar face is back in Orlando after Johnson spent a season with UCF in 2024-25. At Tarleton State, he was one of the best sixth men in the country, averaging 24 points per game — second in the country — all while coming off the bench and averaging just 26.3 minutes a game.
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Worst loss: Jordan Burks. UCF was the spot where Burks finally could flourish, and he was the catalyst for the Golden Knights making the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019. He knows how to score and will do just about anything to get to the bucket, helping him develop a clutch mentality that made a big difference in tight games.
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Biggest remaining need: Paint presence. The Golden Knights defense was a major concern, particularly how opponents didn’t have much trouble getting to the basket. John Bol should be able to fix some of it, but UCF needs more reliable players to turn the tables.
Utah basketball transfer portal analysis
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Best add: Jackson Holcombe (Utah Valley). The third year at Utah Valley was the charm for Holcombe. He really stepped up his game to become an all-around player, leading the Wolverines with 16 points and 7 rebounds per game while also generating steals (2.2) and blocks (1.3) defensively. His willingness to get down and dirty will be something the Utes need after they were last in the Big 12 in defensive field goal percentage and steals.
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Worst loss: Terrence Brown (North Carolina). There was a mass exodus in Salt Lake City, but no departure hurts more than Brown. The former Fairleigh Dickinson guard led Utah in scoring (19.9) and combined with Don McHenry gone, the team loses 48.7% of its shot attempts on the season.
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Biggest remaining need: Continuity. After finishing last in the Big 12 in his first season with midseason departures, Alex Jensen learned quickly how much you need to be well-rounded to survive this league, and Band-Aids won’t just fix it. Utah was neither good on offense or defense, and it’s going to take finding building blocks for the Utes to get out of the cellar.
West Virginia basketball transfer portal analysis
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Best add: Finley Bizjack (Butler). Offensive reinforcements are on the way with Bizjack coming off a campaign where he led Butler with 17.1 ppg. His 3-point shooting wasn’t as strong last season compared to 2024-25, but he can still drill it from deep, bringing in a breath of fresh air to a team that was last in the Big 12 in scoring.
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Worst loss: DJ Thomas (TCU). A freshman off the bench, Thomas showed a promising future in several spots that indicated he would have a heavier role coming into 2026-27. He made 49.5% of his shots and put up consistent performances in the second half, including a 13-point outing in an upset win over BYU.
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Biggest remaining need: Wings: There’s some solid additions with the guards and Mouhamed Sylla anchoring the post, but there’s a need for someone to fill in the gap that can stretch the floor. The current roster has guys that are mostly unproven, and getting someone that can play that forward role could be the difference in being a tournament team.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Big 12 basketball transfer portal breakdown: Best adds, what teams still need
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