Ten Teams that Won Big in the 2023 Transfer Portal

The college basketball transfer portal reached an all-time high in the 2023 cycle. While On3 kept good track of the players as they entered, not every commitment is a one-to-one comparison. Some players are simply fit in new locations. Certain teams needed to fill certain roles, and some coaches needed to overhaul an entire roster.

Here is a look at ten teams who won the transfer portal this offseason.

Alabama, SEC

G Aaron Estrada (Hofstra), PF Grant Nelson (North Dakota State), C Mohamed Wague (West Virginia), G Latrell Wrightsell (Cal State Fullerton)

The skinny: While Grant Nelson brought a lot of headlines with him to Tuscaloosa, the most important get for Alabama might end up being Aaron Estrada. The Crimson Tide returned Mark Sears, their most consistent guard last season, but they lost Jahvon Quinerly and Jaden Bradley to the transfer portal. Estrada averaged 20.2 points at Hofstra last season. He earned back-to-back CAA Player of the Year awards. Latrell Wrightsell had a breakout season last year, averaging 16.3 points on 38.3 percent shooting from three. The first-team All-Big West recipient more than doubled his scoring output from the previous year. Nelson finished first-team All-Summit last year after leading the conference in rebounds and finishing in the top five in points, blocks, and field goal percentage. Mohamed Wague brings depth around the basket with nice rim and paint protection. 

Arkansas, SEC

G Khalif Battle (Temple), SF Jeremiah Davenport (Cincinnati), G El Ellis (Louisville), F Denijay Harris (Southern Mississippi), PF Chandler Lawson (Memphis), G Tramon Mark (Houston), G Keyon Menifield (Washington)

The skinny: While last season’s newcomer haul featured three McDonald’s All-Americans, this class is built more on experience. The two headliners of the group are Khalif Battle and El Ellis. Battle, the younger brother of former Syracuse guard Tyus Battle, averaged 17.9 points last season, and Ellis averaged 17.7. Musselman is bringing in a backcourt pairing who are confident and capable of putting the ball in the basket. Tramon Mark is a well-rounded guard who started all 37 games for Houston last season. Jeremiah Davenport has knocked down over 200 threes in his college career, and Chandler Lawson and Denijay Harris have each played in over 80 college games with more than 40 career starts.

Iowa State, Big 12

G Keshon Gilbert (UNLV), G Curtis Jones (Buffalo), G Jackson Paveletzke (Wofford)

The skinny: All three of these guards come to Iowa State with the intention of playing. Jackson Paveletzke was last season’s Southern Conference Rookie of the Year and second-team All-SoCon. He averaged 15.1 points on 39.3 percent shooting from three and his 3.7 assists finished third in the conference. Keshon Gilbert is a tough point-of-attack defender with a smooth offensive floor game. He averaged 11.4 points and 3.2 assists with 1.7 steals and shot 38.4 percent from three at UNLV. Curtis Jones finished third-team All-MAC last year after pumping in 15.0 points on 35.9 percent shooting from three. He finished top-15 in his conference in points, assists, steals, and field goal percentage. 

Kansas State, Big 12

G Ques Glover (Samford), F Arthur Kaluma (Creighton), G Tylor Perry (North Texas)

The skinny: If there are two things that Jerome Tang showed last season, it is he can win with a little guard who can boogie and a wing with some chops. While neither Tylor Perry nor Ques Glover is Markquis Nowell, they both have seen great success in their own right. Perry is the reigning Conference USA Player of the Year. His 17.3 points last season accounted for 26.8 percent of his team’s total. He also is a career 41.3 percent three-point shooter on 6.6 attempts volume. Glover started off at Florida before transferring to Samford, where he averaged 17.4 points and 3.5 assists over the last two seasons. Arthur Kaluma has been on the brink of a breakout for the last two seasons. The former Big East All-Rookie has averaged 11.1 points and 5.7 rebounds in 67 career starts at Creighton. Tang brought in a nix influx of talent. 

LSU, SEC

C Will Baker (Nevada), C Daimion Collins (Kentucky), PG Jalen Cook (Tulane), C Hunter Dean (George Washington), G Carlos Stewart (Santa Clara), SF Jordan Wright (Vanderbilt)

The skinny: LSU needed to rehaul its roster after last season. In year two of the Matt McMahon era, the Tigers brought in talent. An interesting piece; a lot of the guys they brought in from the portal are homegrown. Jalen Cook, Carlos Stewart, Hunter Dean, and Jordan Wright are all originally from Louisiana. Cook, who started at LSU under Will Wade, finished top five in the AAC in points, assists, and steals last season. He was first-team All-AAC. Stewart, a Baton Rouge native, was first-team All-WCC last season after averaging 15.2 points and shooting 40.3 percent from three. A third incoming perimeter player, and former high school teammate of Stewart, Wright scored over 1,100 career points at Vanderbilt. Will Baker is a former top-40 recruit, and Daimion Collins is a former top-20 recruit. This LSU roster brought in an influx of talent. 

Memphis, AAC

C Jordan Brown (Louisiana), SF David Jones (St. John’s), PF Nick Jourdain (Temple), F Jonathan Pierre (Nova Southeastern), G Caleb Mills (Florida State), PG Jahvon Quinerly (Alabama), SF Jaykwon Walton (Wichita State), G Jayhlon Young (UCF)

The skinny: This haul for Penny Hardaway addressed a lot of needs, and it did so with experienced players who have had success at the college level. Center Jordan Brown, a former McDonald’s All-American, has scored 1,395 career points and was first-team All-Sun Belt last season. Wing duo David Jones and Caleb Mills have each poured in a lot of buckets in their college careers. Jones averaged 13.8 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 1.5 steals over his last two seasons. Mills has scored 1,193 career points, dishing out 3.4 assists per game last season. Jones will still need to get a waiver. Jahvon Quinerly, a former four-star recruit, has started 40 career games between his stops at Villanova and Alabama. Jonathan Pierre is an intriguing prospect, a 6-foot-9 forward who won a D2 National Title last year and shot over 40 percent from three on the season. Despite some off-court issues, Jaykwon Walton has talent on the floor.

San Francisco, WCC

G Mike Sharavjamts (Dayton), SF Stefan Todorovic (SMU), SG Malik Thomas (USC)

The skinny: This is an interesting haul for San Francisco. Mike Sharavjamts and Malik Thomas are both former top-100 recruits with multiple years of eligibility remaining. Sharavjamts has great size, 6-foot-8, for a guard, and can handle, shoot, and pass at a high level. Thomas is a scoring guard with ability at each level. If he can gain his confidence back, he could have some big outputs. Stefan Todorovic is a 6-foot-8 wing shooter who started seven games last season. In his two seasons at SMU, he shot 35.4 percent from three. The Dons brought in size, length, and scoring. 

St. John’s, Big East

G Nahiem Alleyne (UConn), SG Sean Conway (VMI), G Cruz Davis (Iona), G Jordan Dingle (Penn), C Zuby Ejifor (Kansas), G Daniss Jenkins (Iona), F Chris Ledlum (Harvard), SF RJ Luis (UMass), G Glenn Taylor (Oregon State)

The skinny: In year one, Rick Pitino has rehauled his roster. He brought in nine players through the transfer portal. Each of the nine has had their own degree of success throughout their basketball careers. Jordan Dingle, son of former UMass star Dana Dingle, was the second-leading scorer in D1 last season at 23.4 per game. Daniss Jenkins, who followed Pitino to St. John’s, was last season’s MAAC Tournament MVP. He averaged 15.6 points and 4.9 assists. Chris Ledlum’s 18.8 points last year led to a first-team All-Ivy nod. Glenn Taylor averaged almost 12 per game last year in the Pac-12. RJ Luis averaged 11.5 last season at UMass and was named first-team A10-All Rookie. Nahiem Alleyne followed up an ACC Championship with Virginia Tech two seasons ago with a National title with UConn last season. Sean Conway shot 37.8 percent from three last season. Zuby Ejifor is a former top-100 recruit. Talent has followed Pitino to New York. 

Texas, Big 12

G Max Abmas (Oral Roberts), G Ithiel Horton (UCF), PF Ze’rik Onyema (UTEP), C Kadin Shedrick (Virginia), G Chendall Weaver (UT-Arlington)

The skinny: Rodney Terry did a good job here of adding depth around a couple of potential star players. This portal class starts with Oral Roberts transfer Max Abmas. The Dallas native returns to the state as D1 active career-scoring leader with 2,561 career college points. The second major addition could be center, Kadin Shedrick. In the 15 games he started at Virginia last season, Shedrick averaged almost ten and five while adding two blocks per game. He shot 69 percent from the floor in those games and was a high-level rim protector. With more touches, in a more up-tempo system, Shedrick could take a step. Watch to see what kind of role Chendall Weaver carves out. Last season’s WAC Rookie of the Year shot 40.2 percent from three. Ithiel Horton is now at his fourth school, but he brings 83 career starts and over 1,100 career points with him. 

West Virginia, Big 12

C Akok Akok (Georgetown), G RaeQuan Battle (Montana State), G Jeremiah Bembry (Florida State), C Jesse Edwards (Syracuse), G Noah Farrakhan (Eastern Michigan), PG Kerr Kriisa (Arizona), F Quinn Slazinski (Iona)

The skinny: Interim head coach Josh Eilert kept things together in the off-season and added some very nice pieces to the roster. West Virginia lost its top six scorers from last year’s team. They added double-double center Jesse Edwards, who also led the ACC in blocks last season. Kerr Kriisa led the Pac-12 in assists last season. RaeQuan Battle, if he can get a waiver, averaged 17.7 points last season at Montana State. They brought in good depth, good size, and some players who have experienced winning.