Ranking the 5 best basketball transfer portal hauls in the Big Ten

With the transfer portal mostly settled, it’s time to start assessing rosters for the 2026-27 men’s basketball season. In the Big Ten, several teams majorly reconstructed their rosters in the past few weeks. Who brought in the best haul from the 2026 version of the portal?

Here’s our subjective rankings of the top five transfer portal classes in the Big Ten.

Advertisement

Honorable Mentions: Ohio State and Nebraska

Despite losing Devin Royal to the portal, Ohio State brought in four quality transfers who could play right away. Old friend Justin Pippen led Cal in assists (4.6 per game) and steals (1.9) while being the second-highest scorer on the team last year. Andrija Jelavic (Kentucky) is a Croatian big-man who started occasionally for Mark Pope last season. Even Jimmie Williams (Duquesne) was arguably the best player on a mediocre A-10 team last season. While this won’t turn Ohio State into Big Ten contenders overnight, it was a nice rebound after losing several key players to graduation and the portal.

For Nebraska, Fred Hoiberg raided the lower levels of college basketball and took in five transfers in the hope that at least one sticks. Kadyn Betts (Montana), Sam Orme (Belmont), and Boden Kapke (Boston College) will help rebuild the Cornhusker frontcourt. Orme is the best of the bunch, having averaged 11.8 points per game last year on a stellar mid-major squad in Belmont. Taj DeGourville (San Diego State) and Trevan Leonhardt (Utah Valley) are both shooting guards who will be looking for larger roles in Lincoln.

5. UCLA Bruins

Mick Cronin has brought in four transfers so far, with the class highlighted by Jaylen Petty (Texas Tech). The 6-foot-1 point guard scored 10.3 points per game last season and will be a big loss in Lubbock. UCLA also brought in Serbian power forward Filip Jovic out of Auburn — he isn’t much of a scorer, but he is a strong rebounder and will help fill the void left by Tyler Bilodeau.

Advertisement

Lastly, Azavier Robinson (Butler) and Sergej…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/ranking-5-best-basketball-transfer-140000903.html

Author :

Publish date : 2026-04-29 14:00:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.