College basketball transfer portal power rankings: Indiana, Louisville among teams improving the most

These 10 teams are positioning themselves for a strong 2026-27 with elite transfer class hauls

There are a variety of ways for a college basketball team to improve from one season to the next, including internal retention/development, high school recruiting and through the transfer portal. The best programs blend all three approaches, but the portal has clearly become the most prevalent means of improvement (or attempted improvement) across the vast Division 1 landscape.

A handful of programs have already made clear strides toward improving on their 2025-26 fortunes by assembling strong transfer hauls that, on the surface, should lead to better 2026-27 results. Indiana is a prime example. After missing the NCAA Tournament with a rotation full of players who built their reputation at the mid-major level, coach Darian DeVries is going hard after proven high-major production as he assembles his second roster.

You will notice that Duke, which ranks No. 9 in the 247Sports team transfer rankings, does not appear on this list. Improving on a 35-3 (17-1 ACC) season that resulted in the Blue Devils claiming the No. 1 overall seed for the NCAA Tournament will be tough, even if an Elite Eight exit fell short of expectations.

Against that backdrop, here are the 2026 transfer portal power rankings as things stand shortly after the portal's closure. With dozens of potential impact players still uncommitted, this picture will change again before roster construction season is complete.

1. Indiana

Last season:18-14 (9-11 Big Ten) | missed NCAA Tournament This season: No. 21 in Gary Parrish's Top 25 And 1

Indiana had a size and rebounding problem last season. That has been rectified through the additions of Aiden Sherrell from Alabama and Samet Yigitoglu from SMU. Collectively, the two bring over 500 pounds of heft and infinitely more muscle and rim protection than what the Hoosiers got from their front court last season. Furthermore, IU landed an electric scoring guard in Notre Dame's Markus Burton, who headlines a deep group of perimeter reinforcements coming from elsewhere in the high-major ranks. This group of Hoosiers should be far better equipped to withstand the grind of Big Ten play after IU faded down the stretch in 2026.

2. Texas

Last season: 21-15 (9-9 SEC) | NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 This season: No. 8 in Gary Parrish's Top 25 And 1

Texas made a surprising Sweet 16 run during Sean Miller's first season after sneaking into the NCAA Tournament as one of the last four at-large teams. Now, we are seeing the Longhorns get aggressive about securing a spot in the SEC's upper half after a 10th-place finish in 2026. Last year's defensive limitations are being addressed by a couple of bullies in wing Amari Evans from Tennessee and forward David Punch from TCU. But the true prize of this class may be Colorado transfer Isaiah Johnson, who was among the most efficient freshmen in the country last season. The 6-foot-1 guard ranks as the No. 13 transfer in the country and is poised to become an SEC star -- potentially for seasons to come.

3. Providence

Last season: 15-18 (7-13 Big East) | missed NCAA Tournament This season: unranked in Gary Parrish's Top 25 And 1

As far as the crop of first-year coaches goes, no one has fared better than Bryan Hodgson. After turning South Florida into an NCAA Tournament team during his first and only season there, Hodgson is primed to do the same with Providence. San Diego State transfer Miles Byrd is one of the nation's top defenders, while Malik Mack (Georgetown) and Devin Vanterpool (FAU) are proven, productive guards. Buffalo transfer Ryan Sabol was one of the nation's most prolific 3-point shooters last season and will jive perfectly with Hodgson's offensive style. Arrinten Page (Northwestern) is a proven high-major big, and the list goes on. The Friars should return to relevance quickly under their new regime.

4. Louisville

Last season: 24-11 (11-7 ACC) | NCAA Tournament second round This season: No. 17 in Gary Parrish's Top 25 And 1

The Cardinals landed No. 1 overall transfer Flory Bidunga to fix the significant shortcomings of their front court and added top-20 transfer Jackson Shelstad to run the point after his junior season at Oregon got cut short due to a hand injury. Those are the headliners, but wing Karter Knox (Arkansas) and stretch forward Alvaro Fogueiras (Iowa) are high-level role players who will fill in nicely around Shelstad and Bidunga. There are still a few additions to make, but Louisville's spending spree means the floor on expectations will be the program's first Sweet 16 appearance since 2015.

5. Maryland

Last season: 12-21 (4-16 Big Ten) | missed NCAA Tournament This season: unranked in Gary Parrish's Top 25 And 1

The retention of key pieces Pharrel Payne and Andre Mills will have a lot to do with Maryland's inevitable improvement in Year 2 under Buzz Williams, which is why the Terrapins are not even higher on this list. But the arrival of a transfer class that currently ranks 19th will also be a significant factor as the Terrapins make their rise back to relevance. The headliner at present is ex-New Mexico forward Tomislav Buljan, the No. 68-ranked transfer. The Croatian bully averaged a double-double with 13.1 points and 10.3 rebounds for the Lobos. Ex-SEC guards DJ Wagner (Arkansas) and Bishop Boswell (Tennessee) are seasoned perimeter options who will also help raise the floor.

6. Xavier

Last season: 15-18 (6-14) | missed NCAA Tournament This season: unranked in Gary Parrish's Top 25 And 1

There isn't that one "oh wow" sort of headliner with Xavier's transfer haul. But 6-foot-6 facilitator Chance Westry (UAB), veteran shooting guard Tru Washington (Miami) and productive center Michael Nwoko (LSU) are each top-100 transfers. Ruben Dominguez from Texas A&M also proved himself to be a high-caliber marksman with good positional size during his first season of college basketball. Collectively, they raise the ceiling for a Musketeers program that finished 15-18 in Richard Pitino's first season. With second-leading scorer Jovan Milicevic also returning, the core of an NCAA Tournament-caliber roster appears to be in place.

7. Arizona State

Last season: 17-16 (7-11) | missed NCAA Tournament This season: unranked  in Gary Parrish's Top 25 And 1

It was anything but a foregone conclusion that Paulius Murauskas would follow Randy Bennett from Saint Mary's to Arizona State. But in the end, that's what the versatile Lithuanian forward opted to do. The two-time all-WCC performer will give the Sun Devils a high floor as Bennett seeks to revitalize Arizona State with a heavy WCC flavor. Point guard Joel Foxwell from Portland led the WCC in assists as a freshman and put up 27 points and eight assists in an upset of Gonzaga. Emmanuel Innocenti is a strong perimeter defender who started 29 games for Gonzaga last season and Dillan Shaw is a stretch forward who hit 41.6% of his 3-pointers for Saint Mary's last season. The Big 12 is a beast, but Bennett's first squad has enough to be competitive.

8. North Carolina

Last season: 24-9 (12-6 ACC) | NCAA Tournament first round This season: No. 14 in Gary Parrish's Top 25 And 1

It's been a good week for North Carolina, which landed top-50 transfers Terrence Brown (Utah) and Matt Able (NC State) to pair with Neoklis Avdalas (Virginia Tech) in comprising what should be a top-10 backcourt in college basketball. The portal entry deadline also passed without a peep from Henri Veesaar. If the seven-footer stays out of the NBA Draft, all the pieces for a preseason top-10 team will be in place at UNC. The "what if they had waited on Billy Donovan" scenario is far more bleak than where things currently stand. The Tar Heels are in great shape under new coach Mike Malone, who is just three years removed from winning an NBA title with the Denver Nuggets.

9. Missouri

Last season: 20-13 (10-8) | NCAA Tournament first round This season: unranked in Gary Parrish's Top 25 And 1

Missouri's additions of Providence wing Jamier Jones, Tennessee forward Jaylen Carey and Kansas big Bryson Tiller fit what this roster needed perfectly. With five-star freshman guard Jason Crowe Jr. entering to run the point and lanky stretch forward Trent Pierce back in the fold, Dennis Gates needed high-level role players to fit the existing framework. If the Tigers can add a secondary ball-handler and shot-maker to take some pressure off Crowe, they will be in awesome shape.

10. Tennessee

Last season: 25-12 (11-7) | NCAA Tournament Elite Eight This season: No. 19 in Gary Parrish's Top 25 And 1

Breaking through the program's glass ceiling of the Elite Eight, which is where the Volunteers' season has ended each of the past three seasons, will be a Herculean lift. But Tennessee's offensive-oriented portal approach gives it a Final Four ceiling. All five transfers in the fold thus far are ranked among the top 100 in the CBS Sports/247Sports portal rankings. The question is whether Rick Barnes can extract the program's usual level of elite defense from a totally revamped roster. If he can, this seismic roster churn will have been worth the effort. Tennessee's average finishing spot in KenPom's offensive efficiency metric over the past seven seasons is 51st, but this group of Volunteers will be strong enough offensively to finish in the top 10 of that metric.