SEC basketball winning the NCAA transfer war this offseason. And it’s not even close.
Amid a college basketball offseason unlike any we’ve ever seen, there’s been plenty of uncertainty but one clear winner.
That would be the Southeastern Conference.
With a record number of players entering the NCAA transfer portal — well over 1,300 are already on the move — and possibly hundreds of more names set to join the list over the next few weeks, keeping track of the comings and goings in college basketball is quite the task.
But you don’t have to look too hard to find good news for the SEC, which has seemingly been adding a program-changing player on a daily basis over the past few weeks.
There has also been plenty of positive traditional recruiting news within the league in the past several days, specifically at Tennessee, which added commitments from three high school prospects late last week, along with the news that veteran forward John Fulkerson would return for next season. The Vols’ 2021 class, which already included five-star point guard Kennedy Chandler, vaulted to No. 2 nationally in the 247Sports rankings, joining SEC rivals Kentucky (sixth) and Alabama (10th) in the top 10.
That list doesn’t factor in transfers. If it did, there would surely be other SEC schools toward the top of the national rankings, and UK and Bama would rank even higher.
On Friday morning, ESPN posted its ranking of the top 100 college basketball transfers so far this offseason. It’s an exhaustive list filled with familiar names and players who should make a major impact at their new schools next season.
The common theme throughout that list is that the SEC is doing very well for itself.
Transfers to the SEC
Of the top 10 players on the ESPN transfer list, seven have already picked their new schools. And four of those players are coming to the SEC (including Kentucky acquisitions Kellan Grady and Oscar Tshiebwe).
Of the top 25 players on the list, eight are headed to SEC schools. More importantly, the league has lost just one top-25 transfer — No. 22-ranked Devin Askew, who’s leaving Kentucky for Texas.
Factoring in Justin Powell’s intraconference transfer from Auburn to Tennessee, that’s a net gain of plus-six top-25 transfers for the conference. The Big Ten, which has gained one top-25 transfer, is the only other league with a positive gain in that stat so far.
Moving further down the list, the SEC still comes out ahead with four incoming transfers ranked between 26 and 50, along with the intraconference transfer of Xavier Pinson. The league is losing No. 40 Noah Locke (Florida to Louisville) and No. 47 Toumani Camara (Georgia to Dayton), but it’s still a net positive for the SEC.
All told, the conference has so far come out with a net gain of eight top-50 transfers. No other league has gained more than one top-50 transfer.
And the wealth of talent is being spread around the SEC.
Eleven teams from the league have picked up at least one Top 100 transfer, including seven teams with gains in the top 25 of ESPN’s list.
Auburn lost Powell, but the Tigers have added North Carolina big man Walker Kessler, who is No. 2 on ESPN’s list and is considered the offseason’s best transfer by other national outlets. Mississippi State added sixth-ranked Garrison Brooks (also from UNC), UK picked up Tshiebwe (No. 7) and Grady (No. 9), Texas A&M landed Marcus Williams (No. 18) from Wyoming, Tennessee got Powell (No. 20) from Auburn, with Alabama adding former McDonald’s All-American Nimari Burnett (No. 21) from Texas Tech and Arkansas bringing in high-scoring guard Stanley Umude (No. 25) from South Dakota.
Additionally, Vanderbilt, Louisiana State and Florida have all added top-50 transfers, and Ole Miss picked up a top-100 transfer.
Nineteen of ESPN’s Top 100 transfers have committed to SEC schools. No other conference comes close to that.
Remaining basketball transfers
While impressive, ESPN’s Top 100 list is likely far from complete.
The college basketball coaching carousel is still spinning and with the NCAA just last week clearly communicating that transfers will be permitted to play immediately next season, more players will be jumping into the portal, and there will undoubtedly be some potential stars in that group. The NCAA has set a deadline of July 1 for players to put their names in the portal, so this process is far from over.
As of now, Kentucky has already been linked to several players in the ESPN Top 100 rankings, including Minnesota point guard Marcus Carr (No. 1 on that list), Illinois guard Adam Miller (No. 5), Texas Tech guard Mac McClung (No. 11) and Oklahoma point guard De’Vion Harmon (No. 14). Other possible UK targets will surely emerge in the coming weeks.
Some additional players of local interest that made ESPN’s list of the Top 100 transfers:
No. 49: Former Kentucky basketball recruit D.J. Jeffries, who is leaving Memphis after two seasons and is the only player to back out of a commitment to John Calipari during his 12 years at UK.
No. 54: Former Eastern Kentucky star Tre King, who is leaving the Colonels after an all-OVC season and will play for Patrick Ewing and the Georgetown Hoyas in 2021-22.
Nos. 75 and 82: Former Marshall point guard Jarrod West and former Miami forward Matt Cross, who have both committed to Louisville for next season.
No. 80: Jemarl Baker, who started his career at Kentucky, played the last two seasons at Arizona — averaging 12.0 points in 12 games this past season before being injured — and has committed to Fresno State as his next stop.
No. 81: Jamal Mashburn Jr., the son of the former Kentucky superstar, played his freshman season at Minnesota and decided to follow Richard Pitino, who was let go by the Golden Gophers at the end of the season and is now the head coach at New Mexico.
No. 83: Cam’Ron Fletcher is also looking for a new home after a tumultuous freshman season at Kentucky. He was the No. 71 overall recruit in the 2020 class.
