Not all portal movement is created equal. These are the transfers whose skill sets, efficiency profiles, and system fits make them the names most likely to define next season. This list highlights the Top Mens Transfers College Basketball 2026-27 to watch.
Every offseason, hundreds of players enter the portal. Most find a new home. A smaller group finds a better situation. And an even smaller group finds exactly the right one.
Using ShotTracker Scout’s AI-driven scouting platform, we identified ten transfers whose production projects well at their new level and whose fit with their new program gives them a real runway to make an immediate impact. From proven mid-major scorers making the leap to high-major pieces changing systems entirely, these are the players worth building your 2026-27 watchlist around.
The High-Ceiling Newcomers
Leroy Blyden Jr., Toledo to Kansas | ShotTracker Season Rating: 82.2
Blyden is the kind of transfer that makes a roster better in multiple ways at once. His 16.4 points and 4.3 assists per game came alongside 41.0% shooting from three on 188 attempts and 84.6% from the line, giving Kansas a perimeter weapon who can both create and convert. His 61 steals and 2.3-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio round out the picture of a guard who contributes on both ends without taking possessions off.
The jump from Toledo to Kansas is significant. The production and efficiency suggest he is ready for it.
Jaquan Johnson, Bradley to Iowa State | ShotTracker Season Rating: 81.2
Johnson arrives at Iowa State with the kind of profile that tends to translate well regardless of level. His 16.9 points and 3.6 assists per game came with 85 steals and a 2.6-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio, the mark of a guard who scores efficiently and takes care of the ball. He shot 38.3% from three and 78.4% from the line, this gave Iowa State’s offense a perimeter option they need as the program reshapes its identity this offseason.
Johnson’s defensive intensity fits the culture. His shot-making fits the system. This is one of the cleaner fits in the entire transfer class.
Paulius Murauskas, St. Mary’s to Arizona State | ShotTracker Season Rating: 80.6
Murauskas follows Coach Randy Bennett from St. Mary’s to Arizona State, and the continuity matters. His 18.4 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game on 48.4% shooting and 84% from the line on 200 attempts made him one of the most complete forwards in the country last season. He scores at all three levels, rebounds consistently, and operates within a system he already knows.
The step up to the Big 12 is the real test. But his versatility and efficiency give him a genuine path to remaining a go-to offensive option rather than a complementary one.
High-Volume Scorers With Something to Prove
Tyler Tejada, Towson to Cincinnati | ShotTracker Season Rating: 79.9
Tejada put up 17.7 points and 5.5 rebounds per game at Towson on 451 shot attempts, getting to the line at an elite clip and converting 88.2% when he got there. The scoring instincts and aggressiveness are clearly there. The 43.2% field goal percentage and 29.1% from three-point range tells you that shot selection has room to grow.
At Cincinnati, the question is not whether Tejada can score. It is whether the improvement in shot quality matches his natural scoring instincts. If it does, his ceiling in a new system is considerable.
Delrecco Gillespie, Kent State to Houston | ShotTracker Season Rating: 79.3
Gillespie dominated the MAC in every way that matters for Kelvin Sampson’s program. His 17.7 points and 11.2 rebounds per game came with 102 offensive rebounds, 42 blocks, and 33 steals, all while shooting 50.8% from the field. He is a physical, relentless interior presence built for the grind that Houston’s system demands.
His role at Houston may look different from what it did at Kent State, but the toughness and defensive activity that define his game translate directly. Stepping into the role Chris Cenac held, Gillespie gives Houston exactly the kind of interior anchor Sampson builds around.
High-Major Ready: Proven at the Next Level
Keanu Dawes, Utah to Kansas | ShotTracker Season Rating: 77.3
Dawes spent last season competing in the Big 12 and posting 12.5 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game on 54.8% shooting. The 281 total rebounds tell you how consistently he impacts possessions on the glass. Moving to Kansas requires no conference adjustment, removing the biggest variable for most transfers at this level.
His rebounding and all-around production project as a seamless fit in Kansas’ system. This is one of the safer bets in the entire class for immediate impact.
Aiden Sherrell, Alabama to Indiana | ShotTracker Season Rating: 77.0
Sherrell brings exactly what Indiana needs on the defensive end. His 75 blocks in the SEC (2.2 per game), combined with 11.1 points and 6.2 rebounds per game on 53.9% shooting, give the Hoosiers proven rim protection with SEC-level experience behind it. His 33.8% from three adds a dimension most shot-blockers at his level cannot offer.
Indiana’s defensive ceiling changes with Sherrell on the floor. That kind of impact does not require an adjustment period.
Samet Yigitoglu, SMU to Indiana | ShotTracker Season Rating: 75.0
Yigitoglu converted 62.8% of his field goal attempts last season while pulling down 7.9 rebounds per game, including 121 offensive boards. His game is almost entirely paint-based, and within that space, he controls possessions and converts at an elite rate. The 49.5% free throw shooting is the honest concern in his profile.
Paired alongside Sherrell, Indiana’s frontcourt becomes one of the most physically imposing in the Big Ten. Yigitoglu does not need to be more than what he already is for that pairing to work.
The Developmental Upside Pieces
Mouhamed Sylla, Georgia Tech to West Virginia | ShotTracker Season Rating: 74.0
Sylla’s numbers came in just 16 games, but the efficiency in that sample is hard to ignore. His 9.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per game on 57.9% shooting, alongside 19 blocks and 32 offensive rebounds, show a player who impacts the game around the basket in meaningful ways every time he is on the floor.
The 42.9% free throw shooting and limited sample size are fair questions. The motor and physical tools that drove that production are not in question. West Virginia gets a piece with real upside if the development continues.
Julius Halaifonua, Georgetown to Oklahoma State | ShotTracker Season Rating: 73.8
Halaifonua does not need a heavy workload to make an impact. His 9.5 points per game came on 60.8% shooting, and his offensive rebound rate, 23 blocks, and 74.7% free throw shooting paint the picture of a finishing-first center who protects the ball and gives his team extra possessions.
Oklahoma State gets a reliable, low-mistake frontcourt option who does not need plays designed around him to be effective. That kind of versatility makes roster construction easier and gives Steve Lutz’s staff a genuine plug-and-play addition.
The transfers who define 2026-27 will not just be the ones who produced at their last stop. They will be the ones who adapt to a new system, a new conference, and a new set of expectations. The data says this group has the profile to do exactly that.
Want to see how these transfers fit into your scouting reports? ShotTracker Scout runs the same analysis for every player on your schedule. See what the data says at shottracker.com.
