Ranking the Best Landing Spots For Top Men’s College Basketball Transfers

The NCAA’s deadline for college basketball players to enter the transfer portal closed on Tuesday, April 21. While not every transfer has selected their school for the 2026-27 season, many of the top players have committed to their new team. Decisions are made by weighing roster and scheme fit, NIL considerations, relationships, location preference, and many more factors. Here are the best landing spots for the top transfers. 20. Dedan Thomas Jr., G Player movement: Thomas transferred from LSU to Houston Fit with Houston: Thomas will be a part of the reload for the Cougars, who lost all three of their starting backcourt members in Kingston Fleming, Milos Uzan and Emanuel Sharp. He’s capable of filling those shoes as he averaged 15.3 points and 6.5 assists per game during his junior season at LSU. Offense shouldn’t be an issue for Thomas, but it will be interesting to see what an offseason with head coach Kelvin Sampson does for his defense and toughness. 19. Najai Hines, C Player movement: Hines transferred from Seton Hall to UConn Fit with UConn: Hines has the potential to take one of the biggest leaps of any player in the transfer portal from his freshman to sophomore year, and he landed in a place with a coach who can unlock that ceiling. In just 18 minutes per game, Hines averaged 2.2 blocks and 5.5 rebounds with Seton Hall. So, defense isn’t a question, and will only improve in an offseason with Dan Hurley, where Hines will be expected to improve his conditioning. The one question is what Hurley can bring out of Hines, offensively. 18. Zoom Diallo, G Player movement: Diallo transferred from Washington to Kentucky Fit with Kentucky: Diallo wanted to be the lead guard at his new school and found a spot that needed him to do that. He has a very similar game to that of former Kentucky guard Otega Oweh, as he attacks downhill and creates in the paint with herky jerky movements. Diallo averaged a career-high 4.5 assists per game during his sophomore season with Washington, and could certainly increase that number while powering Kentucky’s offense. [College Basketball Transfer Portal: Ranking the Top 20 Players in the Men’s Portal] 17. J.P. Estrella, F Player movement: Estrella transferred from Tennessee to Michigan Fit with Michigan: If you can’t beat ‘em, join ’em — Estrella committed to Michigan after the Wolverines beat the Volunteers in the Elite Eight. Estrella could follow in the footsteps of elite Michigan big men. While he averaged just 10 points while starting 13 games during his junior season at Tennessee, he’s an elite offensive rebounder and a quality decision-maker in the short roll. Michigan’s Dusty May has shown he can take that baseline of skills and run with it. If anyone can develop Estrella into an elite big man, it’s the Wolverines head coach. 16. Somto Cyril, C Player movement: Cyril transferred from Georgia to Miami (Fla.) Fit with Miami (Fla.): Hurricanes coach Jai Lucas got the best out of center Malik Raneau offensively and will do the same with Somto Cyril. Cyril doesn’t have the ball-handling ability that Raneau does, but he can be a great pick-and-roll partner for Villanova transfer Acaden Lewis. He will also provide an interior defensive presence that the Hurricanes didn’t have last season. 15. Kwame Evans Jr. Player movement: Evans transferred from Oregon to Villanova Fit with Villanova: Evans will be an upgrade at center from Duke Brennan for the Wildcats. Brennan was solid, so that’s saying a lot about Evans. He’s versatile. He can protect the rim and guard on the perimeter on defense, and score off the dribble and in the paint on offense. He is also an underrated passer, and with more talent around him at Villanova that skill could be unlocked. Coach Kevin Willard has always had sturdy defenses, and that will be the case with Evans anchoring the Wildcats. 14. Donnie Freeman, F Player movement: Freeman transferred from Syracuse to St. John’s Fit with St. John’s: Freeman has a very similar game to Bryce Hopkins and Dillon Mitchell, who both just had successful seasons with the Red Storm and Rick Pitino. Freeman is a skilled wing, who can get downhill and score in the paint. He will also fit well with Pitino’s defensive system, which prioritizes length. The biggest issue, which also manifested with Hopkins and Mitchell, is perimeter shooting. Freeman shot 30.2% on 3.7 attempts during his sophomore season at Syracuse. An improvement in outside shooting from Freeman would make this fit perfect. 13. Neoklis Avdalas Player movement: Avdalas transferred from Virginia Tech to North Carolina Fit with North Carolina: Avdalas had an up-and-down season with the Hokies, averaging 12.3 points and 4.6 assists per game. But when he came to the U.S. for college basketball before last season, he was regarded as a potential top NBA prospect. Now that he’s with a former NBA coach in Michael Malone, and likely to play in a more NBA-like system, that ceiling could be discovered. Moreso, Avdalas will have teammates who can take ball-handling responsibility off him in Utah transfer Terrence Brown Jr. and NC State transfer Matt Able. 12. Nikolas Khamenia, F Player movement: Khamenia transferred from Duke to UConn Fit with UConn: Khamenia had an up-close view of what it would be like to play forward at UConn for Dan Hurley when the Huskies beat the Blue Devils in the Elite Eight. With Alex Karaban graduating, Khamenia can slide right in. Those are big shoes to fill, and he will need some development to get there. But the foundational skill set is similar, so Hurley can work with it. Khamenia is a big wing who can shoot the three and create off the dribble. He’s a fundamental player with a high IQ who will be able to navigate Hurley’s system and be maximized in it. What made UConn so dangerous in the NCAA Tournament, was the duo of Karaban and Braylon Mullins — two elite shooters, forcing defenses to pick and choose. Adding Khamenia while retaining Mullins should continue that trend. 11. Terrence Hill Jr., G Player movement: Hill transferred from VCU to Tennessee Fit with Tennessee: It’s become predictable at this point. For four seasons in a row, head coach Rick Barnes has dipped into the transfer portal and added one of the best offensive players to his roster. Dalton Knecht, Chaz Lanier, Ja’Kobi Gillespie, and now Terrence Hill. Hill is an electric, spark-plug type scorer, who will lift the Volunteers’ offense. These additions work in Tennessee because there’s such a strong baseline of defense that the scorer can focus on, simply, scoring. This season, Barnes went all in on that trend. Not only did he add Hill, but offensive savants Tyler Lundblade, Dai Dai Ames, and Jalen Haralson transferred to Tennessee. With Hill at the forefront, the Volunteers might have the most offensive firepower under Barnes, so it will be interesting to see if they retained enough of the defensive foundation to finally break through and make a Final Four. 10. Isaiah Johnson, G Player movement: Johnson transferred from Colorado to Texas Fit with Texas: Johnson will be the Longhorns’ lead guard. As a freshman, he was impressively efficient on a disappointing Buffaloes’ squad, averaging 16.9 points per game on 48.6% shooting. With more talent around him at Texas, he should continue to be an efficient scorer. He will also be able to tap more into his facilitation skills and set up frontcourt players David Punch and Matas Vokietaitis. 9. Paulius Murauskas, F Player movement: Murauskas transferred from Saint Mary’s to Arizona State. Fit with Arizona State: The fit here is easy as Murauskas’ move from the Gaels to the Sun Devils means he’ll stay with head coach Randy Bennett, who’s coached him for the last two seasons. Under Bennett, Murauskas has developed into an elite three-level scorer, averaging 18.6 points per game during his junior season at Saint Mary’s. The Gaels made the NCAA Tournament in both of Murauskas’ seasons, but were unable to advance past the first weekend. With him as the foundation of their offense, the Sun Devils will have a chance to make the Sweet 16 in Bennett’s first season. 8. Miles Byrd, G Player movement: Byrd transferred from San Diego State to Providence Fit with Providence: Byrd certainly prioritized scheme fits in the transfer portal. He won Defensive Player of the Year in the Mountain West and now comes to a Providence squad that will be heavily prioritizing ball pressure and defense. The Friars’ new head coach, Bryan Hodgson, often employed full-court presses and perimeter traps at South Florida. Byrd will allow Hodgson to play those schemes and do so at a high level. 7. John Blackwell, G Player movement: Blackwell transferred from Wisconsin to Duke Fit with Duke: Blackwell left Wisconsin to contend for a championship, and landed on a roster primed to do so, with a coach hungry for his first ring. Blackwell adds something the Blue Devils didn’t have last year: veteran leadership in the backcourt. That was Duke’s crux the last two seasons when it blew leads to UConn and Houston. There’s a bit of a clog in the backcourt with the addition of Blackwell. Cayden Boozer has already announced his return, and Caleb Foster and Isaiah Evans could come back to Duke, too, so it will be interesting to see if and how they all fit together. 6. Acaden Lewis, G Player movement: Lewis transferred from Villanova to Miami (Fla.) Fit with Miami (Fla.): Lewis has the potential to be one of the best guards in the nation and Hurricanes coach Jai Lucas just proved he can get that out of a player. In his first season at Miami (Fla.), Lucas turned Michigan transfer Tre Donaldson into an elite perimeter player. Donaldson improved from 11.3 points and 4.1 assists per game in his junior season with the Wolverines to 16.4 points and 5.7 assists per game in his senior season at Miami (Fla.). Expect a similar jump from Lewis. 5. Flory Bidunga, F Player movement: Bidunga transferred from Kansas to Louisville Fit with Louisville: While coach Pat Kelsey has loads of experience helping lead guards position themslves for the NBA Draft, he hasn’t had the elite big men on his past rosters. Bidunga could have flourished on teams such as St. John’s or Michigan that have a recent track record of developing big men, instead he chose to be Kelsey’s missing piece. Louisville’s biggest weakness over the last two seasons has been its interior defense. That won’t be a problem anymore, as Bidunga is an NBA-level rim protector, who averaged 2.6 blocks per game during his sophomore season at Kansas, and won Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year. He will also be a perfect pick-and-roll partner with Oregon transfer Jackson Shelstad. [College Basketball 2025-2026 Buzz: Florida star Haugh set to return] 4. Jackson Shelstad, G Player movement: Shelstad transferred from Oregon to Louisville Fit with Louisville: If coach Pat Kelsey can hang his hat on one thing, it’s coaching lead guards. Through his first two seasons in Louisville, he’s helped guards such as Chucky Hepburn and Mikel Brown Jr. raise their NBA Draft stock. Obviously, that’s Shelstad’s ultimate goal, and he can mimic Hepburn’s trajectory — a transfer from Wisconsin, who leveraged his one season with Kelsey into a roster spot on the Toronto Raptors. For now, Shelstad will be the engine of the Cardinals’ offense, creating for himself and his teammates. He’ll be relied upon for everything offensively, and is capable of handling that responsibility. 3. P.J. Haggerty, G Player movement: Haggerty transferred from Kansas State to Texas A&M Fit with Texas A&M: Haggerty is an elite scorer, finishing fourth in the NCAA with 23.4 points per game during the 2025-26 season. Now playing in coach Bucky McMillan’s fast-paced offense, Haggerty could average over 25 ppg. While that scoring could seem empty as Haggerty’s teams have only made the NCAA Tournament twice in four years, it will be very meaningful on an Aggies’ squad with hopes of making a deep run after losing in the Round of 32 this past season. 2. David Punch, F Player movement: Punch transferred from TCU to Texas Fit with Texas: Punch will be part of a one-two punch in the Longhorns’ frontcourt, alongside returning center Matas Vokietaitis. The Longhorns spent as much as anyone in the portal, and are building a roster that mimics many of the top contenders from the 2025-26 season. Punch epitomizes that theme, as investing in the frontcourt has become the successful trend in college basketball. While Punch doesn’t have the outside shot to space the floor, he and Vokietaitis will bring the physicality to compete with the likes of Michigan, Florida and other teams with elite frontcourt depth. 1. Stefan Vaaks, G Player movement: Vaaks transferred from Providence to Illinois ahead of his sophomore season Fit with Illinois: Vaaks will slot into the on-ball creation role that was vacated with freshman Keaton Wagler declaring for the NBA Draft. His 3-point shooting ability — Vaaks led the Big East, making 35% of his attempts in 2025 — fits the Illini’s perimeter-happy playstyle. He will have to make strides as a play-initiator and facilitator to completely replace Wagler, but he flashed in those areas during his freshman season, averaging 3.2 assists per game, and will have much more talent around him at Illinois. Vaaks also follows Illinois’ trend of adding former Eurobasket players as he led Estonia’s BC Kalev/Cramo in scoring as an 18-year-old in 2024 before coming to the U.S. for college.