How many transfers is too many in college basketball: Guide to building a balanced roster

Nearly every team in college basketball uses the transfer portal in some compacity, whether to fill out the roster or to fill a specific role in the rotation. But amid the countless methods used to build a roster given the changing landscape, it can be difficult to identify which ones set the team up best for success.

That leads quickly to one question about roster-building: How many transfers is too many?

After studying the results of the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons, there is a loose starting point to this answer around seven transfers, a number which 17 high-major programs passed this offseason.

The answer is not one-size-fits-all but can provide guiderails for both the best practices and the realistic expectations for each fanbase.

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Seven transfers might seem like a random number to start with, but it comes from two specific places. First is the data accumulated over the past two seasons.

In the 2022-23 season, two teams made the NCAA Tournament with seven or more transfer. Missouri did it with seven in Year One under Dennis Gates, while Kansas State did it in Jerome Tang’s first season with seven Division I transfers and 12 new players overall.

West Virginia joins this list as a third team when community college additions are included, with five Division I transfers and 3 JuCo additions.

In the 2023-24 season, where only one seven-transfer team made the NCAA Tournament – NC State, which used a miraculous ACC Tournament run to get there – but also boasts a Final Four representative. While the deep run complicates the data, it does actually point to an interesting argument for why seven transfers is too many.

Given how impressive NC State looked in the postseason, many people wonder why they were unable to play that way from November-February. The answer likely lies in part with the struggles that come with integrating so many new faces into a system, all while establishing a hierarchy among the players.

Why seven transfers is a lot

The second reason is the general tilt of passing 50-percent on the roster. With 13 spots to give until NCAA scholarship rules shift in coming years, adding seven transfers – not to mention any incoming freshmen – leaves a disproportional ratio of new and old.

That imbalance forces some of these newcomers to quickly jump into leadership roles, all while they attempt to learn the system and culture just like their teammates. For coaches who do go over this number, it is critical to identify those leaders early and deliver a clear message on the program’s culture.

“The hardest thing is probably getting them to buy into each other,” said new Washington head coach Danny Sprinkle. “With so many new players, to be unselfish. I’ve got to enjoy your success just as much as my own success.

“So I think that comradery and that chemistry is a huge part of bringing them together.”

For some coaches – especially those taking over a new program – the need to field a roster outweighs the desire to create balance. When up to 13 players are given the chance to leave via the portal, the same amount usually need to come in. This trend makes the job of a first-year head coach as difficult as ever.

Teams looking to buck trend

Among the 17 high-major teams looking to overcome the seven-plus transfer talk this season, only seven of them feature the same coaching staff from last year. The remaining 10 fit into the category of teams looking to rebuild.

California, Kansas State, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Seton Hall, UCF, Xavier each look to become this year’s version of NC State by finding the right combination before March Madness begins. However, the focus must also stay on building quickly, given the strength of these conferences and the reliance on non-conference strength of record.

The other 10 teams are: DePaul, Kentucky, Louisville, Oklahoma State, SMU, USC, Vanderbilt, Washington, Washington State, West Virginia

“There’s a coaching change, the natural evolution is, guys put there name in the transfer portal,” said new Vanderbilt head coach Mark Byington. “And it did help us on the other end, if we didn’t have the transfer portal we wouldn’t have a team right now.

“It’s a challenge when you have to replace basically the entire roster. They’ve got to learn not only my system, my style, but each other.”

Among those 10, DePaul, Kentucky and Louisville must replace all 13 scholarship players in one offseason. The trio becomes the first three high-major programs to attempt this feat in one year. DePaul adds the challenge of bringing back zero walk-ons as well.