As the excitement for the Final Four builds, fans of teams that aren’t Duke, Houston, Auburn, and Florida are already in offseason mode. In the transfer portal era of college basketball, some of the most important roster moves that will define next season will happen in the coming days and may have already happen. As many fans are aware, some of the top players that will be in San Antonio next weekend were transfers, including Walter Clayton Jr., Milos Uzan, and Johni Broome. So, what top players have already found new homes for the 2025-26 season?
Donovan Dent (New Mexico) is Now a UCLA Bruin
Mick Cronin has added one of the top three players in this year’s transfer class. Reigning-Mountain West Player of the Year Donovan Dent has departed New Mexico and is joining the UCLA Bruins. Dent averaged over 20 points per game last season and has even garnered NBA Draft buzz due to his outstanding offensive skillset. He will now be taking his 49-41-78 shooting splits to Los Angeles.
The Lobos, who made it to the NCAA Tournament as an at-large bid and beat Marquette in their first game before falling to Michigan State, are losing two of their key ingredients in Dent and head coach Richard Pitino, who departed for the Xavier job.
Dent, originally from Riverside, CA, is heading home.
March Madness Standout Bennett Stirtz Follows His Coach to Iowa
In the wake of longtime Hawkeyes head coach Fran McCaffrey being fired, Iowa hired Drake head coach Ben McCollum to replace him. McCollum led Drake to an impressive NCAA Tournament win over Missouri in the first round before a loss to Texas Tech. The Bulldogs’ top scorer, forward Bennett Stirtz, is following his coach to Iowa.
Just two years ago, both Stirtz and McCollum were at Division II Northwest Missouri State, and after a season of vast success at Drake, they are now stepping it up again and joining the Big 10. Stirtz averaged 19-5-6 last season and hung 21 points on Missouri in the Round of 64. His Offensive Bayesian Performance Rating is the highest of any of the top transfers, according to college basketball analytics website EvanMiya.
An Iowa team that lost both its head coach and many of its top players will now be rebuilding with a core of ex-Drake Bulldogs.
Pepperdine Standout Moe Odum is the Latest Arizona State Sun Devil
While Pepperdine did not make much noise as a team this last season, point guard Moe Odum was one of the top guards in the West Coast Conference. The smaller guard can absolutely fill it up and has also demonstrated some elite passing ability. His signature performance last season was against Gonzaga, where he had 24 points and 8 assists. Odum is now on his way to the Valley of the Sun and will don the maroon and gold of Arizona State.
Ex-Iowa Hawkeye Owen Freeman Staying in the Midwest with Creighton
As previously mentioned, there are several highly talented players in the large pool departing Iowa after McCaffrey’s firing. The crown jewel of the bunch is versatile big man Owen Freeman, who is joining the Creighton Blue Jays, who he selected over teams like Auburn and Michigan.
With program lynchpin Ryan Kalkbrenner out of eligibility, Greg McDermott’s squad will be trying to fill a massive void down low, and while Freeman is not an exact replica of Kalkbrenner’s skillset, he is absolutely a strong player. His over 16 ppg and almost 7 rebounds made him one of the best freshman in the Big 10 last season.
More and more dominos will continue to fall as the transfer portal action heats up.
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