It’s transfer portal season once again in college basketball — though tell that to any coach, and they’ll likely respond, When is it not portal season?
Players around the country have been declaring their intentions since the end of the regular season, but entering the NCAA transfer portal became officially possible when the clock struck midnight on April 7, less than an hour after Michigan won its first national championship since 1989.
This season, the portal is open for a single 15-day window running to April 21, a change aimed at fewer disruptions and distractions during the postseason.
Our annual rankings and scouting reports of the most important players in the portal are coming soon. For now, here are a few notable names on the move and teams to watch on Day 1.
Tennessee, Syracuse land impact transfers early
There was no more obvious transfer portal fit than former Siena guard Gavin Doty following coach Gerry McNamara to Syracuse. Doty — Siena’s leading scorer last season, who had 21 points against No. 1 Duke in the NCAA Tournament — committed quickly to Syracuse on Monday and should immediately provide some scoring punch for the Orange, even with the move to a higher level. The 6-foot-5 rising junior is also incredibly reliable, averaging 36.8 minutes per game this season with a top-50 turnover rate nationally.
Another early commit who should make an instant impact is former Belmont sharpshooter Tyler Lundblade, a grad transfer who will bring some much-needed spacing to Tennessee next season. Lundblade made 40.6 percent of his 8.8 3-point tries per game(!), demonstrating an efficiency and volume that has at times eluded the Vols in recent years under coach Rick Barnes. The former TCU wing’s shooting touch translates to the free-throw line, too, where he converted 93.3 percent of his attempts, the second-best free-throw percentage in Division I. The 6-foot-6 graduate wing won’t offer a ton as a playmaker or rebounder, but his floor gravity will be essential to Tennessee’s success next season.
Flory Bidunga, Bryson Tiller and Elmarko Jackson (former team: Kansas)
Coach Bill Self is returning for season No. 24 in Lawrence and it will be a total reset, with two promising starters and a top reserve transferring out. The 6-foot-9 Bidunga could be the most coveted player in the portal. He averaged nearly a double-double (13.3 points and 9.0 rebounds) this season and has two more years of eligibility left. There is huge upside there. Combined with the departure of the 6-10 Tiller, a freshman who scored in double figures 13 times with two double-doubles, the Jayhawks are losing their two most productive bigs and rim protectors. Bidunga led the team with 2.6 blocks per game. Tiller is more of a stretch four: He took 52 treys this season, hitting just 26.9 percent. There are concerns about his physicality. Not the case with Bidunga.
As for Jackson, he has been first guard off the bench for most of his two seasons in Kansas. Whether he could develop into more than that at a high-major program remains to be seen. With enigmatic one-and-done Darryn Peterson heading for the NBA Draft and Tre White and Melvin Council Jr. both out of eligibility, KU’s top six from a team that earned a No. 4 seed and was knocked out in the second round of the NCAA Tournament by St. John’s will all be gone in 2026-27.
Miles Byrd (former team: San Diego State)
Byrd, a 6-foot-6 defensive menace of a wing, considered entering the NBA Draft last spring, where he likely would’ve been a fringe first-rounder. Instead, he decided to return to the Aztecs to boost his pro stock, but that didn’t materialize, as he struggled from 3 (only 30.8 percent) for a team that wound up on the wrong side of the NCAA Tournament bubble.
Byrd was asked to carry too much of a scoring burden at San Diego State, but his athleticism and complementary playmaking would be welcome on any high-major roster, to say nothing of his tremendous point-of-attack defense. Plus, as one of the few remaining active players from the Aztecs’ 2023 national runner-up team, he has extensive postseason experience, which proves valuable each March.
John Blackwell (former team: Wisconsin)
Blackwell will easily be one of the most coveted players in the portal and may be the best guard available. The All-Big Ten selection scored 30 or more points five times this season after moving back to his more natural position of shooting guard, and he and teammate Nick Boyd provided a lethal 1-2 punch on the perimeter in Madison. Blackwell also plans to test the NBA waters, which he did last spring while committed to coming back to Wisconsin if he didn’t go pro. Given his current draft projection, it’s likely he stays in college hoops. It’s worth remembering his dad played four years at Illinois.
Bryce Lindsay and Acaden Lewis (former team: Villanova)
Two of the starting guards from the Wildcats’ first season under Kevin Willard are testing the market. Villanova rolled out the red carpet and gave Lewis the keys to the offense as the lead ballhandler, and he helped lead the team to a surprising NCAA Tournament appearance. Lewis brings some NBA-level tools to the table in his creativity and passing ability. He also deals well with contact at the rim. How he improves as a scorer will dictate his future: He made just 58.3 percent of his free throws and 27 percent of his 3s this season.
Lewis averaged 1.9 steals per game but was not good enough at the point of attack or as a rotational defender this season. Willard clearly didn’t feel comfortable with him defensively on the court in late-game situations. Lewis has long-term upside, but interested teams will need to work through the current flaws in his game. Overall, Villanova was 6.4 points per 100 possessions worse when Lewis was on the court, per CBB Analytics, largely because of that negative defensive impact.
Lindsay started his career at Texas A&M before transferring to James Madison, where he won 2025 Sun Belt freshman of the year honors. He went off in Villanova’s first-round NCAA Tournament loss to Utah State, can get hot from 3 and is an above-average playmaker, but like his backcourt mate Lewis, his defense isn’t anything to write home about.
Neoklis Avdalas (former team: Virginia Tech)
Avdalas took college basketball by storm in the opening weeks of the season before defenses adjusted to him. A 6-foot-8 swingman with serious on-ball skills as a passer and playmaker, Avdalas looks like a future NBA player. He dropped 33 points and six assists on Providence in the opening week of the season but came back to Earth in the ensuing months, averaging 12 points on 38 percent shooting from the field and 31 percent from 3-point range. He’s not yet strong enough to consistently get to the rim, and he’s not a good enough shooter yet to threaten defenses from 3.
Still, there are many reasons to be excited about recruiting Avdalas. He’s an incredible passer at his size, and his playmaking out of ball-screens stands out due to his pace and footwork. Defensively, there is a lot of work to do, but he’s big enough to hide even if he needs to get more engaged when he’s away from the ball. In the right scheme where he gets space to operate — one intriguing fit would be as Keaton Wagler’s replacement at Illinois — he has All-American and certainly all-conference upside.
Juke Harris (former team: Wake Forest)
Harris is one of the most important transfer portal entries of the cycle. The Wake Forest wing was one of the better pure scorers from that position in college basketball this season, dropping 21.4 points per game and drilling a bevy of incredibly difficult shots. If Harris didn’t score for the Demon Deacons, no one did. Harris got to the line an awful lot, averaging 7.1 free throw attempts per game, largely off of straight-line drives. As the season wore on, Harris also started to flash as a ball-screen scorer who could get his own momentum going or attack in dribble-handoff settings.
Yes, Harris needs to improve the way he sees the court; he took an awful lot of tough shots this season, often when teammates were open. Additionally, the offensive load he shouldered often seemed to wear on him defensively, as he wasn’t always the most engaged off-ball defender. But with better talent around him, his efficiency could skyrocket.