Transfer portal winners and losers: Big 12 takes a hit, Duke and USC thrive, Washington and the mid-majors struggle

The transfer portal officially closed to new entrants Tuesday night. Players who took the plunge during the open window have time to select new homes, but roster spots are filling quickly.

From here, it’s clear: The Big 12 took a shot to the gut, with more elite transfers departing the conference than joining.

The wave of attrition includes the two highest-ranked players in the portal, according to the 247Sports database (as of Wednesday morning): No. 1 Flory Bidunga, the Kansas big man who’s headed to Louisville, and No. 2 Milan Momcilovic, the Iowa State wing who has yet to pick a destination.

In all, seven of the top 20 players in the 247Sports rankings are leaving the Big 12. In addition to Bidunga and Momcilovic, the list features Arizona State center Massamba Diop (fifth), Kansas State guard PJ Haggerty (sixth), TCU forward David Punch (eighth), Cincinnati center Moustapha Thiam (12th) and Colorado guard Isaiah Johnson (13th).

No other power conference has more than three of the top 20 players in the portal.

Meanwhile, the Big 12 has lured just two of the highest-ranked talents into the conference. Saint Mary’s big man Paulius Murauskas (ninth) is joining coach Randy Bennett at Arizona State, and LSU guard Dedan Thomas Jr. (16th) is headed to Houston.

With seven outgoing and two incoming, the Big 12’s net loss of five far exceeds the damage inflicted on the ACC, Big East, Big Ten or SEC by movement within the 20 highest-ranked players.

If we broaden the scope to include transfer classes, not just individual players, the picture remains murky for the Big 12: Only No. 8 Arizona State and No. 15 Houston are ranked inside the 247Sports top 20, with Iowa State and Cincinnati just missing the cut.

Granted, rosters for next season aren’t set. Numerous top-50 players have yet to select destinations, and the impact of NBA Draft decisions won’t be known for more than a month. (The stay-or-go deadline for college players is May 27.)

And it’s worth noting that retention, a vital piece of the process, isn’t factored into the transfer rankings.

But to this point, the Big 12 has taken more blows than it has delivered, leaving the conference with questions about its position in the national hierarchy.

Unless a slew of elite uncommitted players select Big 12 schools in coming weeks, the dominance on display during the 2025-26 season — the conference consistently placed six teams in the national rankings — will be difficult to replicate.

To the winners and losers …

Winner: Arizona. The biggest question in Tucson — whether forward Koa Peat turns pro or returns to school — remains unanswered. But the Wildcats adeptly used the portal to fortify their perimeter with guards Derek Dixon (North Carolina) and JJ Mandaquit (Washington). The loss of wing Dwayne Aristode is of limited significance, particularly if Peat returns.

Loser: Kansas. With Bidunga heading to Louisville and forward Bryson Tiller off to Missouri — think about that: mighty KU is losing starters to lesser programs — coach Bill Self must rework the frontcourt. His recruiting haul is impressive; his transfer class is not. To this point, Self has added only Keanu Dawes from Utah and Leroy Blyden from Toledo. Both are solid players but not what you might expect of the Jayhawks.

Winner: Louisville. This probably isn’t the name you would expect to see atop the 247Sports transfer portal rankings, but the Cardinals crushed it with the tandem of Bidunga and point guard Jackson Shelstad from Oregon. At the most important positions, they will have two of the top players in the ACC.

Loser: Washington. The raw numbers are bad enough in Seattle, with six departures and just three arrivals (so far). But quality is a huge issue, as well: The Huskies lost Zoom Diallo and Desmond Claude, who combined for 29 points per game, along with big man Franck Kepnang. Trajectories shift quickly in the portal era. But at this point, it’s tough to see a path to relevance for the Huskies.

Winner: USC. The hype train has plenty of fuel in Los Angeles, where coach Eric Musselman grabbed center Eric Reibe (UConn) and guard KJ Lewis (Georgetown). With a stocked recruiting class and the expected return of forward Jacob Cofie and guard Rodney Rice, the Trojans should qualify for the NCAA Tournament with room to spare.

Loser: San Diego State. The Aztecs were gutted by attrition, losing a collection of players that combined for 49 points per game and includes wing Miles Byrd and big man Magoon Gwath. (Three left for the Big East and one to the Big Ten.) Thus far, coach Brian Dutcher has not acquired a comparable level of talent. Only Chance Gladden, from Boston, could be viewed as capable of making an instant impact.

Winner: Duke. The departure of wing Nikolas Khamenia to UConn was more than offset by the successful acquisition of Wisconsin’s John Blackwell, arguably the best guard in the portal. Add the all-Big Ten performer to the nation’s No. 1-ranked recruiting class — power forward Cameron Williams is the headliner — and the cast of newcomers should keep Duke from backsliding in the post-Cameron Boozer era.

Loser: Oregon. Coach Dana Altman has acquired more pieces than he lost. But it’s the quality of the departures that resonates most deeply on the Hotline — not forward Kwame Evans so much as Shelstad, who is both an elite point guard and the embodiment of the program as an Oregon native. His departure counts double.

Winner: BYU. We’ll credit the Cougars for corralling the most important player on their board: point guard Robert Wright, who entered the portal, spent a week in limbo, then returned to Provo for what should be a stellar junior year. Add wing Collin Chandler (from Kentucky) to the list of arrivals and the Cougars should remain relevant even if AJ Dybantsa enters the NBA Draft, as expected.

Loser: Utah. Meanwhile, the situation remains dreary up the road from Provo. The Utes have lost eight players to the portal, including high-scoring guard Terrence Brown, and acquired just four. Of those, only guards Taison Chatman (Ohio State) and Jackson Holcombe (Utah Valley) possess resumes indicative of impact players.

Winner: Oregon State. This is not a misprint, not by any stretch. With new coach Justin Joyner and newfound NIL support, the Beavers have secured a bevy of players, including high-scoring Buffalo guard Daniel Freitag and gifted Fresno State wing DeShawn Gory, who should ensure relevance in the new Pac-12.

Loser: The little guys. The highest-ranked collection of transfers outside the Power Five conferences is … wait for it … Oregon State’s six-man class. The Beavers are merely No. 40 in the 247Sports database. The 39 schools ahead of them are all from the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, Big East and SEC. The talent continues to flow up, toward the money.

Winner: Arizona State. Coach Randy Bennett’s medical issues delayed his deep dive into the portal. Once healthy, he quickly made up for lost time by landing two of his former Saint Mary’s players, the aforementioned Murauskas and sharpshooting wing Dillan Shaw, along with Portland guard Joel Foxwell and Gonzaga wing Emmanuel Innocenti. The Sun Devils will be a problem in the Big 12.

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