The college basketball transfer portal is closed for entry, however that has not stopped the movement of players to greener pastures. Thus far this college basketball offseason, all three local high major programs have benefitted from the portal to a varying degree, while also maintaining recruiting classes so that their programs have a bright future ahead. Let's look at how each local program has fared so far this offseason.
Kansas State
The Wildcats did not start out ideally, with names like Cam Carter, Arthur Kaluma, Dai Dai Ames, and others all leaving the program, while not really gaining anyone. Dug McDaniel was the only name of note, which while a big name, did not fill the holes that were left. They've seen a bit of life though with a few recent acquisitions, ones that may save Tang's job this upcoming season. Let's look at the talent that has left and entered the program.
LEAVING
PG Dai Dai Ames-TBD
SG RJ Jones-TCU
C Jerrell Colbert-SMU
PG Dorian Finister-Sam Houston
SG Cam Carter-LSU
SF Arthur Kaluma-NBA/Transfer Out
PG Tylor Perry-Graduation
C Will McNair-Graduation
SG Ques Glover-TBD
COMING IN
SG Brendan Hausen-Villanova
C Baye Fall-Arkansas
SG Max Jones-CS-Fullerton
PG Dug McDaniel-Michigan
CG CJ Jones-Illinois-Chicago
PG David Castillo-Freshman
Kansas State has just about balanced out its roster with the recent transfers, but there is still a long way to go and holes to fill. They'll need more depth at forward and center with the departure of Colbert, Kaluma, and McNair, but made up for it a little by acquiring Baye Fall. They still also have Taj Manning and Macaleab Rich as well, but are very young overall at the wings and center, which may prompt for them to look for a more experienced transfer. They will also need to bolster their recruiting class, as while David Castillo is one of the top players in the nation, the incoming freshman class for the Wildcats contains just one player. Overall, not as bad as Kansas State fans think, but certainly needs more to this point.
Kansas
Kansas is a completely different story than Kansas State. They came out firing in the transfer portal after what was arguably the most disappointing year of the Bill Self era so far, snagging marquee transfers and losing no one from the 2024 roster aside from Kevin McCullar and Johnny Furphy, who is still not 100% gone. Let's break down their transfer season thus far.
LEAVING
CG Kevin McCullar-Graduation/NBA Draft
SF Johnny Furphy-NBA Draft*
PG Labaron Philon-Alabama**
SG Riley Kugel-TBD***
*=Furphy can still make the decision to come back, his camp is conflicted currently.
**=Philon, an incoming freshman, has been released from NLI and will be attending Alabama instead.
***=Kugel committed to play for Kansas, but has since decommitted. Originally transferred from Florida
COMING IN
SG Rylan Griffen-Alabama
SG AJ Storr-Wisconsin
PG Zeke Mayo-South Dakota State
C Flory Bidunga-Freshman
SG Rakease Passmore-Freshman
Thus far, Kansas has been absolutely brilliant in the portal and in high school recruiting. The 8th ranked composite class in the 2024 247Sports rankings so far, with the 6th overall transfer class, two McDonald's All-Americans, and a great amount of experience and talent coming in. Kansas is simply reloading, not rebuilding even after a less than stellar year last year, as Blue Bloods normally do, and they may not be done just yet. They are still hot on the trail of multiple different transfers and could make one to two more signings to officially fill out their roster.
Missouri
The Tigers probably had the most disappointing year out of all the local high major teams last year. 0-18 in the SEC, a pitiful 8-24 overall record, and a sophomore slump from head coach Dennis Gates hurt the Tigers immensely, but also sparked the motivation to bounce back, and bounce back they have. More so than originally thought in my ScorchCast this past weekend...
LEAVING
PG Nick Honor-Graduation
PG Sean East-Graduation
SF Curt Lewis-East Tennessee State
SF John Tonje-Wisconsin
PG Kaleb Brown-TBD
PF Noah Carter-Graduation
PF Jesus Carralero Martin-TBD
C Connor Vanover-Graduation
C Jordan Butler-South Carolina
PF-Mabor Majak-Coastal Carolina
COMING IN
SF Annor Boateng-Freshman
C Peyton Marshall-Freshman
SF Marcus Allen-Freshman
C Trent Burns-Freshman
PG T.O. Barrett-Freshman
PF Mark Mitchell-Duke
SG Marques Warrick-Northern Kentucky
PG Tony Perkins-Iowa
SF Jacob Crews-UT-Martin
The Tigers have seen a lot of movement both in and out of the program this offseason thus far, with key pieces like Kaleb Brown, Sean East, and Nick Honor all leaving. This being said, the class they have coming in, both recruit and transfer, is one of Mizzou's best ever. 12th overall rank in 2024 with a 5th place composite rank and 11th place transfer according to 247Sports. The Tigers acquired stud forward from Duke Mark Mitchell, one of the most sought-after players in the portal, as well as Tony Perkins and Marques Warrick, among others. They also have a recruiting class made up of essentially all 4-star players, even further boosting their potential for next year. While last year certainly was one to forget, the Tigers could absolutely make this next year one to remember, especially with returning players like Caleb Grill, Tamar Bates, and Aidan Shaw who all proved to be solid players on a not-so-solid squad. With these improvements, pay attention to the Tigers next year. They may surprise a few people...
Conclusion
This offseason has been fairly standard as far as the three local high majors are concerned. Teams are hashing out their rosters and making plans for improvement, some farther along than others. Overall, expect improvement from this year to last from what was a disappointing season for all three local programs. Plenty of new faces, but growth abounds. It should be a great basketball season come October!
Burn Notice: 8/10 Some offseason heat
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