Ranking the Top 10 2024-25 Transfer Players in Men's College Basketball

With this being the final men's college basketball season in which the national pool of players is still oversaturated because of the COVID year of free eligibility, it's possible the transfer portal won't be quite as much of a superhighway next summer.

It sure was for this season, though, with more than 2,000 D-I players entering the portal, per Verbal Commits.

That's 5.68 per team; somewhere around 43 percent of all players.

Now, they didn't all end up transferring, nor were they all key players in the slightest. But there were a lot of stars who went portaling and who are already making a big impact in their new homes.

In ranking our top 10—or, rather, top 13, as you'll see later—transfers for this season, national impact was of greater consideration than simply statistical production.

For instance, it's cool that Jacksonville State's Jaron Pierre Jr. and Green Bay's Anthony Roy are both averaging 25.8 points per game, but it's infinitely more interesting that PJ Haggerty is putting up 25.7 points per game for a Memphis team that might actually make the NCAA tournament as an at-large. As such, Haggerty presented a strong case for No. 1, while Pierre and Roy might not land on our radar again at any point this season and weren't seriously considered for the list.

Honorable Mentions: Robbie Avila (Saint Louis); Khalif Battle (Gonzaga); Camryn Carter (LSU); Ryan Conwell (Xavier); Tucker DeVries (West Virginia); Frankie Fidler (Michigan State); Keyshawn Hall (UCF); Coleman Hawkins (Kansas State); Jordan Ivy-Curry (UCF); Chaz Lanier (Tennessee); Jamal Mashburn Jr. (Temple); Kevin Miller (SMU); Clifford Omoruyi (Alabama)

2023-24 Stats (at Michigan): 9.0 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 1.4 BPG

Current Stats: 12.7 PPG, 9.7 RPG

There's no chance Tarris Reed Jr. would have landed in this top 10 before the season began.

However, early returns—albeit against extremely weak competition—suggest the former Wolverine is going to be even more critical in the paint than we thought he might be in the Huskies' quest for a three-peat.

The assumption heading into the season was that fourth-year big man Samson Johnson would become the primary paint presence, filling the void of Donovan Clingan's departure.

While Johnson might be valuable as a shot-blocker, he entered the year averaging just 13.2 points, 7.0 rebounds and, most concerningly, 7.4 personal fouls per 40 minutes. And through three games against, again, extremely weak competition, he's at 12.0 points, 5.6 rebounds and 8.8 fouls per 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, Reed has flourished off the bench, particularly on the glass, where he is averaging 19.3 rebounds per 40 minutes. He recorded a double-double in just 17 minutes against Le Moyne, this after going for 15 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks in his UConn debut against Sacred Heart.

Even if Reed doesn't eventually take the starting gig from Johnson, it was never likely that the incumbent option was going to average 30 minutes per game, if only because of his foul issues. And they need Reed eating up just about every last minute that Johnson isn't on the floor, because Plan C at center is a small-ball lineup with Alex Karaban there—who has emerged as a great shot-blocker this season, but arguably isn't built to handle long stretches at the 5.

2023-24 Stats (at Miami): 17.0 PPG, 10.0 RPG, 1.5 SPG, 1.2 APG

Current Stats: 13.3 PPG, 10.0 RPG, 1.5 APG, 1.0 SPG

In each of his previous four seasons, Norchad Omier averaged a double-double. He entered the 2024-25 campaign with 1,823 points and 1,315 rebounds in his career.

With 40 rebounds in his first four games, he's already up into the top 50 on the all-time leaderboard. And it's only going to be a matter of time before he joins Armando Bacot, Robert Parish, Elvin Hayes, Dickie Hemric and Tom Gola as the only players in men's college basketball history with at least 2,250 points and 1,600 rebounds.

That's because he has been just as much of a double-double machine for Baylor as he was in any of the last four years.

Omier came up one rebound shy in the opener against Gonzaga, but at least he showed up for 15 points and nine rebounds in that 38-point loss. He proceeded to put up 15 and 12 in the win over Arkansas, and 18 and 10 in the rout of Sam Houston State.

Decade-long fans of the Bears will recognize Omier's impact as Rico Gathers-like. The former Hurricane isn't quite as insatiable on the offensive glass as the former force in the paint who ranked top seven in the nation in offensive rebound percentage in all four years at Baylor, but he sure can create offense for himself with five putbacks already this season.

2023-24 Stats (at New Mexico): 12.4 PPG, 9.1 RPG, 1.9 BPG, 1.1 SPG

Current Stats: 20.5 PPG, 9.5 RPG, 1.8 RPG, 1.5 SPG

JT Toppin was New Mexico's linchpin last year. The backcourt trio of Jaelen House, Donovan Dent and Jamal Mashburn Jr. routinely hogged the spotlight, but the freshman big man was nothing short of indispensable with his 12 double-doubles and his rim protection.

Now with the Red Raiders, though, the spotlight might be all his.

Don't want to put too much stock in blowout wins over Bethune-Cookman, Northwestern State, Wyoming and Arkansas-Pine Bluff, but Toppin is averaging 34.2 points, 15.8 rebounds and 2.9 blocks per 40 minutes, which are Zach Edey-caliber numbers. (Actually, a bit better than each of Edey's 2023-24 marks of 31.5, 15.2 and 2.7, respectively.)

Running offense through the 6'9" center is clearly a priority for Texas Tech. And why not, when he's shooting 72.9 percent from the field, this after a Mountain West-best mark of 62.3 percent last season?

Within the next 72 hours, we'll get a better sense of just how much of an impact Toppin can make against competent competition.

The Red Raiders will face Saint Joseph's Thursday night in the Legends Classic, with the winner likely drawing Texas, possibly Syracuse the following night.

Could be a whole lot of fun to watch Toppin and Longhorns freshman Tre Johnson or Orange freshman Donnie Freeman both put up points in bunches in that championship game.

2023-24 Stats (at Wisconsin): 16.8 PPG, 3.9 RPG

Current Stats: 10.0 PPG, 2.0 RPG, 2.0 APG

As with Tarris Reed Jr. at UConn, this ranking doesn't mean we expect AJ Storr to be one of the highest-scoring players in the country, or even necessarily one of the three most pivotal players on his own team.

But it is already clear he is going to be playing an important role for what might be the top candidate to win the national championship.

If you blinked while watching Kansas' Champions' Classic matchup with Michigan State, you might have missed Storr. He had never previously fouled out in college. In fact, it had been 54 games since the last (only) time he was whistled for four fouls in a contest. But he lasted just 12 minutes before getting DQ'd against the Spartans, finishing that night with six points.

Storr played 28 minutes in the previous game against North Carolina, though, and went for 16 points in 19 minutes of the subsequent game against Oakland.

If he continues to come off the bench for the Jayhawks, there's a good chance he'll come to be regarded as the National 6th Man of the Year. However, there's probably a better chance he eventually takes Rylan Griffen's spot in the starting lineup by the time Big 12 play begins.

2023-24 Stats (at Missouri): 2.6 PPG

Current Stats: 22.6 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 1.6 APG, 1.0 SPG, 50.0% 3PT

Goodbye, AJ Storr.

Hello, John Tonje.

Even with the COVID year keeping guys eligible for seemingly forever, last year was supposed to be Tonje's final year of college hoops. After four years and more than 1,000 points at Colorado State, he transferred to Missouri for his bonus year. However, a foot injury suffered during the offseason limited him to just eight games before he took a medical redshirt and re-entered the portal.

Suffice it to say, that foot is feeling just fine these days.

Tonje made national headlines in Wisconsin's upset of then-top-10 Arizona, putting up 41 points in that one.

He did get slightly more than half of those points from the charity stripe in what was a preposterously whistle-heavy affair, but his going 21-for-22 from the free-throw line is perhaps even more incredible than his point total. And Tonje has lived at the line this season, making at least eight freebies in four of five games played, with an overall tally of 47-for-49.

This 6'5" star of the Badgers might be the second coming of Johnny Davis.

Both this season with Tonje and three years ago with Davis, Wisconsin was barely a top-50 team on KenPom to open the season. But with Davis averaging nearly 20 points per game—doing more than 25 percent of his scoring from the free-throw line—en route to becoming a consensus first-team All-American, the Badgers played their way up to a No. 3 seed in the dance.

Tonje could lead them to similar heights.

2023-24 Stats (at Utah State): 17.7 PPG, 9.0 RPG, 2.8 APG, 1.4 BPG, 1.3 SPG

Current Stats: 14.8 PPG, 13.0 RPG, 2.8 APG, 1.3 BPG, 4.0 SPG

Great Osobor was maybe the most high-profile transfer of the offseason, partly because he was easily one of the best mid-major players in the nation in 2023-24, but mostly because of the reports that he was getting $2M in NIL deals for going to Washington.

And, well, the Huskies are clearly committed to letting their $2M man feast as much as possible.

Osobor couldn't get anything going in the loss to Nevada (three points, four fouls, five turnovers), but he went for 15 points, 17 rebounds and six steals in the opener against UC Davis, as well as 23 points, 18 rebounds and three steals in Sunday's victory over UMass Lowell.

Those weren't stat-padding efforts, either. Washington won both of those games by just a two-possession margin, needing every last bit of Osobor's Herculean efforts to avoid what would have been embarrassing home losses.

Washington might still be destined for 18th place in the B1G in spite of their big acquisition, but the Huskies could at least be a fun spoiler for some of the league's potential many bubble teams on nights when Osobor goes off.

Current Season Stats

Adou Thiero (from Kentucky): 18.5 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 2.3 SPG

Zvonimir Ivišić (from Kentucky): 12.0 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 3.0 BPG

Johnell Davis (from Florida Atlantic): 9.5 PPG, 5.0 RPG

D.J. Wagner (from Kentucky): 7.3 PPG, 3.3 APG, 3.0 RPG, 2.0 SPG

Putting four Razorbacks in one spot makes this a top 13 instead of a top 10, but so be it.

Notably absent from this list is Jonas Aidoo, as the Tennessee transfer who averaged 11.4 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game in 2023-24 was expected to be a major piece of the Arkansas puzzle. However, Aidoo dealt with a lower-body injury in the preseason and has barely been able to play thus far.

In his stead, Big Z has emerged as quite the weapon on both ends of the floor with eight made threes and eight blocks over his last two games. He needs to get the turnovers under control, but this could be a major breakout year for the Croatian import who wasn't cleared to play until midway through last season.

It has also already been a colossal breakout year for Thiero, who was a frequently banged-up afterthought in Kentucky's rotation over the past two seasons. Though Arkansas lost the game, he was sensational against Baylor, going for 24 points, six rebounds and a little bit of everything else. He has now scored at least 19 in three straight games, after entering the year with 16 as his career high.

If and when the guards join the party, watch out.

Wagner was one of the highest rated recruits in last year's class, but has only on occasion tapped into that deep well of potential. If he starts shooting better while Davis—who averaged 18.2 points and 2.9 assists per game last season—gets his groove back, Arkansas could be scary good.

2023-24 Stats (at Arizona): 12.9 PPG, 10.1 RPG, 1.3 BPG

Current Stats: 13.0 PPG, 9.3 RPG, 3.3 BPG, 1.7 APG

A rim-running, shot-blocking, angry-dunking big man playing for Indiana?

No, it's not Trayce Jackson-Davis or Kel'el Ware anymore.

It's the Oumar Ballo show now.

Actually, the early star for the Hoosiers has been Mackenzie Mgbako, who most expected to be a one-and-done player last year. But he is back for a second season in Bloomington and shining brightly alongside the big man who was pretty unstoppable in the paint over the past two seasons at Arizona.

Ballo only officially had two field-goal attempts in the convincing win over South Carolina this past weekend, but he finished that game with 13 rebounds, seven points and six blocks.

His newfound willingness to share the rock has been noteworthy, too. Ballo had a combined total of four assists over his final 12 games with the Wildcats, but he already has five dimes in three games with the Hoosiers—four of them coming on plays where he carved out a little room before setting up a teammate for a bucket at the rim.

No one expects him to become a Nikola Jokić-level passing big, but it's going to make this entire Indiana offense so much tougher to defend if he continues finding open teammates on a semi-regular basis.

Let's also shoutout Myles Rice while we're here. After a stellar freshman year at Washington State, leading the Cougars to a rare NCAA tournament appearance, the point guard relocated to Indiana, where he went off for 23 points in the aforementioned win over South Carolina.

Throw in Kanaan Carlyle coming in from Stanford and the Hoosiers sure did load up on former Pac-12 stars.

2023-24 Stats (at Tulsa): 21.2 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 3.8 APG, 1.9 SPG

Current Stats: 25.7 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 3.3 APG, 1.3 SPG

In addition to scouring a bunch of two-weeks-into-the-season statistics for this ranking, I also looked at a few preseason transfer rankings as a baseline of sorts.

247 Sports did transfer ratings. CBS Sports' Isaac Trotter did a top 100 and one list. Andy Katz did a top 12 list for NCAA.com.

And the complete lack of respect for PJ Haggerty was staggering.

He wasn't top 12 for Katz, wasn't top 30 on 247 Sports and was barely top 60 for Trotter.

Haggerty was sensational last season at Tulsa, consistently landing in the top five in our Freshman of the Year rankings, despite playing for a team that never had any hope of dancing. He ranked second in the American Athletic Conference in scoring average, fourth in steals and seventh in assists, and he attempted more free throws last season than all players in the country not named Zach Edey.

Not much has changed since his transition to Memphis, save for an improved three-point stroke (5-for-11 through three games) that makes him even more dangerous, and a better supporting cast that might make the tournament. He's still averaging better than nine free-throw attempts per game and has scored at least 23 points in each contest thus far.

It's pretty well up to this wrecking ball of a lead guard to save Penny Hardaway's job, and so far so good on that front.

Don't be shocked if Haggerty shines in a big way against Connecticut in Memphis' Maui Invitational opener next week.

2023-24 Stats (at Seton Hall): 15.7 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 5.1 APG, 2.2 SPG

Current Stats: 8.8 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 5.8 APG, 1.5 SPG

Kadary Richmond was Mr. Everything for Seton Hall last season, leading the team in PPG, RPG, APG and SPG. The point guard even ranked third on the team in blocked shots.

He has been less assertive as a scorer/driver thus far in his new Big East home, only attempting four total free throws through four games compared to averaging 4.6 attempts per game last year.

Richmond hasn't been any less impactful with the Red Storm, though, tallying at least five assists in each game. And he was huge in the big win over New Mexico, finishing that one with 14 points, eight rebounds, five assists and four steals—never mind the seven turnovers.

Pairing him with fellow fifth-year senior point guard Deivon Smith (Utah transfer) has already been fun to watch, as that duo just might rank No. 1 and No. 2 in the Big East in assists. Neither one is a prolific three-point shooter, nor is leading scorer RJ Luis, which will be interesting to monitor as the season progresses.

Then again, Rick Pitino won a national championship in 2013 with two veteran lead guards who didn't shoot all that well from deep in Peyton Siva and Russ Smith. Perhaps Richmond can be his Russdiculous 2.0.

Gigantic opportunity on tap for Richmond to solidify the Johnnies as a contender. They'll get AP No. 13 Baylor on Thursday in the Baha Mar Hoops tournament, to set up a possible showdown with No. 11 Tennessee on Friday.