On The Pony Express' SMU Transfer Portal Tracker

SMU will play for an AAC Championship on Saturday as the Mustangs travel to Tulane. Quickly after that, Rhett Lashlee’s staff will turn its attention to assembling a new roster and having exit meetings.

With the meetings will come news from the NCAA Transfer Portal on SMU players.

The NCAA Transfer Portal officially opens up on December 4, which begins a 30-day window the Monday after FBS conference championship games.

If a head coach has been fired, players can enter the portal now and have contact with other schools. If a player is a graduate student, they can also enter the portal outside the 30-day window. Underclassmen can announce their intent to enter the portal, but can’t officially be contacted by other programs until Dec. 4.

Follow all the action for SMU players entering below with On The Pony Express’ Transfer Portal Tracker.

SMU Transfer Portal Tracker

DL Stephon Wright — Wright was the first Mustang to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal as a graduate transfer on Nov. 20. Wright, who will have one year of eligibility remaining, did not play this season for the Mustangs, but wasn’t facing any discipline or injury issues. The former Arizona State defensive lineman played in five games during the 2022 season and missed a majority with an injury. In those appearances, Wright recorded 15 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss. It wasn’t a surprise to see him move on and look for a new opportunity.

TE Nolan Matthews-Harris — The Frisco, Texas native said on Twitter on Dec. 4 that he’s entering the NCAA Transfer Portal as a graduate transfer with one year of eligibility remaining. Harris played in all 13 games for the Mustangs this season, catching a 9-yard touchdown pass against Louisiana Tech. Since transferring from Arizona State to the Hilltop in 2021, he played in 24 career games, totaling 121 yards and three touchdowns.

DL Daemian Wimberly — Wimberly entered the NCAA Transfer Portal after one season on the Hilltop, he announced on Dec. 4. The Austin, Texas native saw action against Prairie View A&M this season as he redshirted. Wimberly ranks on the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies, as the No. 81 defensive lineman nationally and No. 131 prospect in Texas.

OL Jacob Waller — Waller entered the NCAA Transfer Portal on Dec. 5, leaving the program after two seasons. The redshirt freshman from Arlington didn’t play as a true freshman before getting into five games this season. He’ll have three years of eligibility remaining.

DL Dylan Frazier — Frazier entered the NCAA Transfer Portal on Dec. 6 and leaves the Hilltop after two seasons with the Mustangs. The McKinney (Tex.) North product played in three games in 2023 after not seeing action in 2022. Frazier finished his career with a tackle against Navy this fall.

Transfer portal background information

The NCAA Transfer Portal, which covers every NCAA sport at the Division I, II and III levels, is a private database with names of student-athletes who wish to transfer. It is not accessible to the public.

The process of entering the portal is done through a school’s compliance office. Once a player provides written notification of an intent to transfer, the office enters the player’s name in the database and everything is off and running. The compliance office has 48 hours to comply with the player’s request and that request cannot be refused.

Once a player’s name shows up in the portal, other schools can contact the player. Players can change their minds at any point and withdraw from the portal. However, once a player enters the portal, the current scholarship no longer has to be honored. In other words, if a player enters the portal but decides to stay, the school is not obligated to provide a scholarship anymore.

The database is a normal database, sortable by a variety of topics, including (of course) sport and name. A player’s individual entry includes basic details such as contact info, whether the player was on scholarship and whether the player is transferring as a graduate student.

A player can ask that a “do not contact” tag be placed on the report. In those instances, the players don’t want to be contacted by schools unless they’ve initiated the communication.

The portal has been around since Oct. 15, 2018 and the new calendar cycle within the portal begins each August. For example, the 2021-22 cycle started Aug. 1. During the 2020-21 cycle, 2,626 FBS football players entered the transfer portal (including walk-ons). That comes after 1,681 entered during the 2019-20 cycle and 1,709 during the abbreviated 2018-19 cycle. In comparison, 1,833 Division I basketball players entered the portal during the 2020-21 cycle after totals of 1,020 in 2019-20 and 1,063 in 2018-19.

Track transfer portal activity

While the NCAA transfer portal database is private, the On3 Network has streamlined the reporting process tracking player movement.

If you find yourself asking, ‘How can I track transfer portal activity?’ our well-established network of reporters and contacts across college athletics keeps you up to speed in several ways, from articles written about players as they enter and exit the transfer portal or find their new destination, to our social media channels, to the On3 Transfer Portal.

The transfer portal wire provides a real-time feed of player activity, including basic player profile information, transfer portal ranking and original On3 Industry recruiting ranking, as well as NIL valuation (name, image and likeness).

The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.