Top available players in the NCAA Transfer Portal

After nearly three weeks of the NCAA Transfer Portal being open, the majority of the top available players are already off the board.

Of the top 50 players to enter, 43 are already committed and/or signed to their next school, including seven of the top 10 players. By and large, those schools had a handful of potential destinations — or potentially just one — pre-determined before they entered.

But a few top players have either entered later or are taking their time with the process and likely going into the new year. With bowl season close to wrapping up, we’ll also see more entrants from those teams as well.

For now, here are the top 10 players still available in the portal:

RB Makhi Hughes

On3 Industry Transfer Portal Ranking: No. 3
Previous School: Tulane

Hughes officially entered the transfer portal on Friday morning, immediately becoming the top available player in the On3 Transfer Portal Rankings.

The Tulane transfer ranked No. 10 in FBS with 1,401 rushing yards and 17 total touchdowns this season. He’s rushed for 2,779 yards and 22 touchdowns in the last two seasons and has amassed more than 900 yards after contact each of the last two seasons.

WR Zachariah Branch

On3 Industry Transfer Portal Ranking: No. 4
Previous School: USC

Branch’s entrance into the portal was a massive one, as the former Five-Star Plus+ recruit is one of the nation’s most dynamic receivers and return men. In two seasons in Los Angeles, he posted 78 receptions for 823 yards and three touchdowns. He also had 11 carries for 87 yards and another score. As a returner on special teams, he returned 29 kickoffs for 547 yards and a score as well as 29 punts for 406 yards and another score.

Branch has already visited Arizona State and Georgia, but no decision timeline is known.

WR Kevin Concepcion

On3 Industry Transfer Portal Ranking: No. 5
Previous School: NC State

Concepcion named his top six schools earlier this month after entering the portal: Alabama, Colorado, Florida State, Miami, South Carolina and Texas A&M. He has already visited a handful of those and is expected to take more after the dead period lifts on Jan. 1.

He had a breakout freshman campaign in 2023, hauling in 71 passes for 839 yards and 10 touchdowns. He also contributed another 320 yards on the ground as a do-it-all playmaker. This fall, Concepcion turned 53 receptions into 460 yards and six touchdowns with two more rushing scores.

CB Tacario Davis

On3 Industry Transfer Portal Ranking: No. 14
Previous School: Arizona

Davis was a second-team All-Big 12 selection and a Jim Thorpe Award semifinalist in 2024 and is widely considered an early-round draft pick in the NFL whenever he opts to leave college. During his three seasons at Arizona, he notched 76 tackles, 2.5 tackles for a loss, an interception, a fumble recovery and 23 passes defended.

A Long Beach (Calif.) native, he is expected to be among the most sought-after players in the portal if he doesn’t leave for the NFL Draft.

DL David Gusta

On3 Industry Transfer Portal Ranking: No. 26
Previous School: Washington State

Texas A&M, Alabama, Michigan and others have already reached out to Gusta, one of the best defensive lineman to hit the portal this cycle. Across three seasons in Pullman, he totaled more than 60 tackles, including six for loss, and has graded out as one of the best interior disruptors in the country.

CB Ethan O’Connor

On3 Industry Transfer Portal Ranking: No. 50
Previous School: Washington State

The 6-2, 176-pounder had a team-high four interceptions, eight pass breakups and 32 tackles this past season after redshirting and playing off the bench in two games in 2023. Per Pro Football Focus, O’Connor had a 78.2 overall grade this year in 755 reps, including a stellar 80.1 cover grade. He was targeted 62 times and allowed 32 completions for 406 yards and three TDs along with his four picks.

RB Rahsul Faison

On3 Industry Transfer Portal Ranking: No. 57
Previous School: Nevada

Faison rushed for 1,109 yards and eight touchdowns in 2024 and has one more year of eligibility. He also caught 22 passes for 99 yards and was named to the Mountain West all-conference second team this season. He was originally set to be out of eligibility. But the NCAA Division I Board of Directors approved a blanket waiver granting an additional year of eligibility to former junior college transfers last week in light of the preliminary injunction against the NCAA in the Diego Pavia lawsuit. 

Florida State, Georgia, Utah and North Carolina visits are on the docket early in January.

CB Michael Coats

On3 Industry Transfer Portal Ranking: No. 62
Previous School: Nevada

Coats was one of the top Group of Five players in the country in 2024, starting all 13 games while leading the Wolf Pack in passes defended (17) and interceptions (four). He added 41 tackles from his cornerback spot as well. He also earned All-Mountain West honors, and like Faison, will have one year of eligibility left after the NCAA’s ruling.

EDGE Ben Bell

On3 Industry Transfer Portal Ranking: No. 67
Previous School: Texas State

A transfer from Texas State, Bell has been one of the nation’s most productive defensive ends over his five years at the college level. After two seasons at Louisiana Tech, he transferred to play for the Bobcats ahead of the 2022 season.

In his three years at Texas State, he notched 95 tackles, including 25 for loss, as well as 15.5 sacks. This season though, he only appeared in four games before sitting out the rest of the year to preserve his eligibility.