Chris Jans explains Mississippi State's mindset in the most recent transfer portal cycle

Mississippi State Bulldogs head coach Chris Jans recently explained part of the program’s mindset in how it approached bringing in players in the most recent Transfer Portal cycle.

Jans shared that while looking for players who came from power conference programs wasn’t the only factor that went into the decision-making on individual players, it did make those players easier to evaluate and see how they might work at Mississippi State.

“In terms of our approach to the spring recruiting, particularly the portal, we didn’t have thoughts that ‘Hey, we’re only going to sign or recruit guys that had experience at that level,'” Chris Jans said. “Certainly, it weighs in when you are trying to make decisions on who you are going after. I think it’s a little bit easier at times to evaluate those prospects because of the obvious and who they are playing against and the competition level. You don’t have to think about that quite as much so maybe it makes it a little bit easier that way.”

Chris Jans and Mississippi State were very active in the Transfer Portal this offseason. The Bulldogs have the fifth-ranked transfer class in the 2024 cycle, according to the On3 College Basketball Team Transfer Portal Rankings. It’s a class that has seen six players enter the program, with five of those players coming from power conference teams.

The only transfer into the program not from a power conference team is Jeremy Foumena, a seven-foot tall center from Rhode Island who averaged 5.3 points and 3.5 rebounds in 12.9 minutes per game as a freshman.

“But I know the confidence level, when you sign someone at that level, is higher that it will translate to your particular program,” Jans said.

The 2024-25 season will be Jans’ third in Starkville. He’s led the Bulldogs to back-to-back 21-win seasons. He also took the team to the NCAA Tournament twice.

Chris Jans explains process of bringing KeShawn Murphy back out of the transfer portal

One key move Chris Jans made this offseason was bringing KeShawn Murphy back to Mississippi State from the Transfer Portal.

“Yeah, fortunately, I think, for all of us, we’ve been through enough recruiting cycles now to, in your personal opinion, how you best handle those types of situations. From the time I got here to inheriting who we did, who we had? Some guys were on the fence of either coming back because they were in the portal or going into the portal. With Murph, I felt like we had an understanding of how we should handle it,” Jans said.

“In my opinion, we just try to give them time and space. It’s not a sales pitch. You know, I always feel like, at that point, if you’ve had a young man in your program for a year, you’re recruiting him, and you’re selling him like a new recruit… We’re going to give you the time and space. We love having you here. But, at the same time, you know, the rules are the rules and the options are the options. That approach has served us well thus far.”