By Aidan Joly
After taking a month off of writing in this blog following the national championship game, all eyes were on the portal.
Much of the dust has settled and most players are where they will be for the 2025-26 season. For the second year in a row, I will do several of these writing about players and how they fit in their respective new spots.
As for this first part, St. John’s has grabbed several of the top names in the portal, while the rest have scattered among other teams in power conferences. Louisville has had a good month as well and will head into a promising year two under coach Pat Kelsey.
With that all being said, let’s get into the first group of names.
Yaxel Lendeborg; Old school: UAB | New school: Michigan
A NBA draft decision looms for Lendeborg, but for now Michigan has landed arguably the best player in the portal this year in the stud who spent last season at UAB. Lendeborg can get it done on both sides of the floor, averaging 17.7 points on offense. On defense, he averaged 11.4 rebounds per game and is a two-time AAC defensive player of the year. He is the type of two-way player who can be the centerpiece of Michigan’s roster – if he makes it to Ann Arbor at all.
Bennett Stirtz; Old school: Drake | New school: Iowa
The leader of Drake’s 31-win team that got to the second round of the NCAA tournament, he follows coach Ben McCollum to Iowa City from Des Moines. He was among the leaders of the most minutes played per game in the country and can score from everywhere on the court, to the tune of a 19.2 points per game mark this season. He will have a great chance of landing on an All-America list and propelling Iowa in the post-Fran McCaffery era.
Donovan Dent; Old school: New Mexico | New school: UCLA
Dent, one of the best point guards in college basketball this past season, makes the move out of the Mountain West and into the Big Ten. He shot 49% from the field for a team that reached the second round of the NCAA tournament and shot just under 41% from three on the season. He averaged 20.4 points per contest. He earned conference player of the year honors this season. He’s great on defense too. Like Stirtz, he will have a real shot at being an All-American.
Ian Jackson; Old school: North Carolina | New school: St. John’s
Jackson has some flaws to his game, but he is a lethal shooter. That came to the tune of shooting 39.5% from three for the Tar Heels this past season on the way to averaging 11.9 points per game. The criticisms are there that he is a shooter and not much more while being turnover-prone, but he is a true shot-creator. Going from Hubert Davis to Rick Pitino, it will be interesting to see how he develops in what will be a very good Red Storm team.
Robert Wright III; Old school: Baylor | New school: BYU
Wright had a very solid freshman season at Baylor, averaging 11.5 points per game on just around 41% from the field and 35% from three. He is only 6-foot-1 but he is a big 6-foot-1, checking in at 185 pounds with the build of a football player, something that helps the physicality of his game in a big way. On what is going to be an extremely talented BYU roster, one that features top recruit AJ Dybantsa, he will look to be a guy who sets other guys up, while doing some of the scoring himself.
Adrian Wooley; Old school: Kennesaw State | New school: Louisville
Wooley had a dominant freshman season in Conference USA for Kennesaw State, averaging 18.8 points per game while shooting 51.2% from the field and 42.4% from three, while tacking on 76.9% from the free-throw line. He dominated all aspects of the game and came within one win of getting Kennesaw State into the tournament, scoring 28 points in a two-point loss in the conference title game. He is a potential future NBA player who can really blossom at a high-major.
Jayden Quaintance; Old school: Arizona State | New school: Kentucky
Quaintance is still only 17 and has a full season of college basketball experience under his belt. In his first year playing college hoops, he averaged 9.7 points and 8.1 rebounds per game for the Sun Devils. Those numbers don’t necessarily pop out, but keep in mind that this was being done by a player who was barely 17 years old. On defense, he was named all-Big 12. He still has room to grow offensively, but he has plenty of time. He could very well be a top-10 NBA pick in 2026.
Cedric Coward; Old school: Washington State | New school: Duke
Another player with a draft decision looming. It is a meteoric rise for Coward, who began his collegiate career at Division III and is now a potential first-round NBA pick who will go to Duke if he pulls his name out of the draft. He was off to a great start at Washington State and averaged 17.7 points per game until a shoulder injury ended his season six games into the year. He averaged 15.4 points per game at Eastern Washington two seasons ago. He would be a great fit in Durham for Jon Scheyer if he does play college basketball in 2025-26.
Moustapha Thiam; Old school: UCF | New school: Cincinnati
There seems to be a very high ceiling with Thiam. He is 7-foot-2, an elite shot blocker and has the ability to step out and make a three. As a freshman he averaged 10.4 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game at UCF, but was a little inconsistent shooting the ball. Most notably, he only made 29.1% of his 79 three-point attempts on the season. If he can be a little bit more of a consistent shooter, he can be a force for the Bearcats.
Ja’Kobi Gillespie; Old school: Maryland | New school: Tennessee
After transferring in from Belmont one year ago Gillespie made an immediate impact for the Terrapins, serving as the starting point guard on a team that made it to the Sweet 16. He averaged 14.7 points per game while shooting 45.3% from the field including 40.7% from three, and made over 88% of his free throws. A truly very good point guard, he should again be one of the best point guards in the country for the Vols.
Silas DeMary Jr.; Old school: Georgia | New school: UConn
DeMary took a big step as a sophomore at Georgia this season, averaging 13.5 points per game as the starting guard on a Bulldogs team that made the NCAA tournament. He stands at 6-foot-5, which is large for a guard, but gives him a big benefit as a bigger guy that can still run an offense as if he was two or three inches shorter. He really turned it on in February and March, averaging 19.3 points per game over Georgia’s final 10 games of the season. He should become a national star at UConn.
Ryan Conwell; Old school: Xavier | New school: Louisville
After a breakout season at Indiana State two years ago Conwell was perhaps Xavier’s best player in 2024-25, averaging 16.5 points per game and helping the Musketeers reach the tournament. He shot 41.2% from three and played very well on defense. He also has the ability to completely take over the game, which he did a few times. He scored 34 points in a win against Villanova on Jan. 14 and then scored 38 in a Big East tournament quarterfinal win against Marquette.
Dedan Thomas; Old school: UNLV | New school: LSU
Thomas was a two-time all-Mountain West pick and was one of the better point guards available in the portal. He averaged 15.6 points per game for the Runnin’ Rebels this past season to go along with 4.7 assists per game, making him an elite passer who can create plays. His shooting numbers took a little bit of a dip this season compared to his freshman year, but they were still good. He will have a chance to LSU’s best player in 2025-26 and perhaps have a shot at being all-SEC.
Bryce Hopkins; Old school: Providence | New school: St. John’s
Hopkins has had quite the journey in college basketball. He was a top-40 prospect headed to Kentucky in 2021-22, didn’t have a great freshman season, burst onto the scene as a sophomore at Providence a year later, tore his ACL midway through 2023-24 and played just three game for the Friars this past season before a bone bruise ended his season. Now, he heads to St. John’s. When he’s healthy he can be one of the best players in the country, but the key is staying healthy. He’s played just 17 games over the past two seasons.
Keyshawn Hall; Old school: UCF | New school: Auburn
Hall is another player who has entered the NBA draft, but if not he will spend the 2025-26 season at Auburn after an impressive season at UCF. He was one of the few contributors on a team that struggled in the Big 12, but still found a way to average 18.8 points and 7.1 rebounds while being at least semi-efficient from the field. Auburn will be his fourth school, but his biggest one yet. He also spent time at George Mason and UNLV.
Tucker DeVries; Old school: West Virginia | New school: Indiana
DeVries was the best player in the portal one year ago after following his father Darian to Morgantown from Drake, but was limited to just eight games due to a wrist injury. Now he follows his dad again, this time to Bloomington. He averaged 14.9 points per game for West Virginia, but he is a two-time Missouri Valley player of the year and gaining notoriety for being an elite shooter and scorer. We will see what he looks like in the Big Ten.
Josh Dix; Old school: Iowa | New school: Creighton
Dix was a true breakout star in the Big Ten in 2024-25, averaging 14.4 points per game on 51% from the field. He’s a lethal shooter from behind the three-point line, nailing 42.2% of his threes while taking five of them per game. He’s a true shooter who can hit shots from all over the floor, something that will help Creighton. He is a good size too, standing at 6-foot-5 and weighing 210 pounds. He will be a difference-maker in Omaha.
Isaac McKneely; Old school: Virginia | New school: Louisville
Another solid add for Pat Kelsey and the Cardinals. Put simply, McKneely is one of the best three-point shooters in the country. For the Cavaliers in 2024-25, he made them at a 42.1% clip while taking around seven per game. That was even a slight drop from two seasons ago, when he made 44.5% of them. McKneely is sure to be the go-to guy when it comes to shots behind the arc for a Louisville team that is set to have some deep talent in 2025-26.
Chad Baker-Mazara; Old school: Auburn | New school: USC
It may come as something of a surprise, but Baker-Mazara still has collegiate eligibility. He is 25 years old and is one of the few players in the country who still has the extra COVID year. He is certainly an up-and-down player who can both help and hurt a team depending on the situation, but when he is on, he is on. He is a typical 3-and-D wing, averaging 12.3 points per game and is a career 39.8% three-point shooter. He can be a great defender if he is engaged, but can be a liability when he isn’t. Despite all of this, Baker-Mazara was a key cog on an Auburn team that made the Final Four.
Joson Sanon; Old school: Arizona State | New school: St. John’s
Sanon was a five-star recruit one year ago who had a solid freshman season at Arizona State. He averaged 11.9 points per game and shot just under 37% from three, just over 42% from the field overall. His season was something in parts though: he averaged 15.9 points per game over the first nine games, 6.5 PPG over the next 13 and then 18.8 in the final five. What kind of player is he actually? We’ll probably have a good chance at finding out.
AJ Hoops 