College basketball top 25 rankings updated for 2023-24 season, Kansas soars after Hunter Dickinson commitment – 247Sports

The biggest transfer piece of them all chose his college destination with All-American big man Hunter Dickinson announcing his transfer from Michigan to Kansas. That propelled Kansas up the rankings, but also largely closed the book on the current round of top transfers.
Each of 247Sports’ top 20 transfers now picked a destination, with 19 of those players heading to college basketball for the 2023-24 season. And while some key players remain — including multiple top 10 recruits — that means it’s time to take aim at projecting the best teams for 2023-24. This is 247Sports’ second Way-Too-Early ranking for the upcoming season, though it’s a significantly more complete one, as the initial ranking came out just before the national championship game.
A wave of stay-or-go decisions have hit since then, with the bulk of the transfer portal coming and going as well. And while we’ll continue to update these rankings as the offseason goes on, it’s always fun to see which teams are projecting as national title contenders.
Get the latest football and basketball transfer portal news from 247Sports.
Here are the picks for the best teams for 2023-24.
Projected lineup: Dajuan Harris, Arterio Morris, Nick Timberlake, KJ Adams, Hunter Dickinson
247Sports recruiting class rank: No. 6
Keep an eye on: Mackenzie Mgbako
The Jayhawks had a deep and talented roster for the 2023-24 season, including returning starters in Harris and Adams from a team that won the Big 12 and set a record for most Quadrant I victories in a season before falling to Arkansas in the second round. But they were lacking an anchoring star following the graduation of All-American Jalen Wilson … until Dickinson pledged to play for the Jayhawks. Few coaches are as willing to feed post-up threats like Bill Self is, and he shows the ability to tweak his defenses to fit his players’ strengths as well. The Jayhawks have one more open spot with Kevin McCullar looking increasingly likely to stay in the NBA Draft, and that could go to Mgbako, the No. 10 overall player, with the Jayhawks arguably the favorite to land his services.
Projected lineup: Jeremy Roach, Tyrese Proctor, Jared McCain, Mark Mitchell, Kyle Filipowski
247Sports recruiting class rank: No. 2
Keep an eye on: Roach, a transfer big man
The Blue Devils are in the market for a transfer center, one that allows Mitchell and Filipowski to slide down to their preferred spots at the 3/4, ones they played a year ago. Mgbako leaving Duke’s class is not ideal; his size and shooting would have found a role somewhere. But even without him, this is a team that, should Roach return, brings back four starters from a team that was as hot as any to close the season, and adds one of the nation’s best recruiting classes to boot. There’s a reason Duke was No. 1 in our initial Way-Too-Early rankings (we were among the few to call for Filipowski’s return), and it was tough to move Duke off the top spot now.
Projected lineup: Tyler Kolek, Stevie Mitchell, Kam Jones, Olivier-Maxence Prosper, Oso Ighodaro
247Sports recruiting class rank: No. 24
Keep an eye on: Role of the freshmen
The 2022-23 Golden Eagles were highly decorated: Big East regular season and tournament titles, 2-1 against eventual national champion UConn. And while Michigan State cut down Marquette’s tourney run, the Golden Eagles left little doubt it was a top-10 type team. And the Golden Eagles bring back all five starters and the key depth from that team. Marquette should improve just by all of those players, including one of the nation’s best point guards in Kolek, getting better. A wild card here is how well the freshmen, both top 100 players, start off. Tre Norman is slightly higher ranked, but Zaide Lowery was among 247Sports’ biggest risers in the final rankings.
Projected lineup: Ryan Nembhard, Nolan Hickman, Steele Venters, Anton Watson, Graham Ike
247Sports recruiting class rank: No. 38
Keep an eye on: Watson, Malachi Smith
The Bulldogs wait on a decision from Watson, an important player for Gonzaga’s title hopes, and he projects to return here. If Smith returns, he pushes for a starting spot, or serves again as a valuable reserve. But Gonzaga looks ready to move from the Drew Timme era because of the work the Bulldogs have done in the transfer portal, landing two of 247Sports’ top 16 transfers in Creighton point guard Nembhard and Wyoming big man Ike. Eastern Washington’s Venters looks like a prototypical Gonzaga wing as well: 6-foot-7 and a 40.3% career 3-point shooter. There is good depth here, as well.
Projected lineup: Tyson Walker, AJ Hoggard, Jaden Akins, Malik Hall, Mady Sissoko
247Sports recruiting class rank: No. 4
Keep an eye on: Hoggard and Akins
Hoggard and Akins both project to return to Michigan State this year, meaning the Spartans are one Joey Hauser graduation away from running it back with a full starting lineup from a team that finished a regulation basket away from the Elite Eight. Hauser moving on means it’s time for Hall to step into the light that he’s flirted with over his Spartan career. But even if he doesn’t take a leap, there’s enough firepower in the backcourt and enough depth in the frontcourt, including new five-star center Xavier Booker, for the Spartans to make it back to the Final Four under coach Tom Izzo.
247Sports recruiting class rank: No. 100
Keep an eye on: Trey Alexander, Ryan Kalkbrenner
Alexander and Kalkbrenner are right in that swing range in NBA stock where players often return to college. And if they do, they join another Creighton team with Final Four potential after returning Baylor Scheierman, blossoming sophomore Mason Miller and transfers Steven Ashworth (Utah State), Johnathan Lawson (Memphis) and Isaac Traudt (Virginia). Ashworth cuts his meat a bit differently than departing point guard Ryan Nembhard; Nembhard is more a floor general, while Ashworth is an absolute sniper from distance who made 111 3-pointers at a 43.4% clip last year. Ashworth, Scheierman and Miller should open up plenty of room for Kalkbrenner to operate if he returns.
247Sports recruiting class rank: No. 20
Keep an eye on: A transfer four
Marcus Sasser heading to the NBA and Tramon Mark transferring keeps Houston from a top five spot … for now. But the Cougars found a great replacement for Sasser in Baylor’s LJ Cryer, who should pair with Jamal Shead to form another dynamite backcourt. Damian Dunn adds shooting to the wing, where Terrance Arceneaux is a potential star. J’Wan Roberts is back at the five spot, though Houston could stand to add a bit more height and a more traditional four man to join the Cougars’ post group, which thrives on offensive rebounding and big-to-big trapping inside. Otherwise, Kelvin Sampson may have to get a bit more creative.
247Sports recruiting class rank: No. 65
Keep an eye on: Zach Edey
Edey is testing the waters while preserving his eligibility, and this ranking assumes he returns to college for his senior season. Edey is a giant mismatch at the college level, with the National Player of the Year finishing with 22.3 points and 12.9 rebounds per game, destroying seemingly every one-on-one matchup. This year, the players around him will not be as young too, and perhaps more equipped to deal with the scenario that knocked Purdue from this year’s NCAA Tournament. With another year’s maturity for players like Fletcher Loyer and Braden Smith, the Boilermakers should be more upset-proof in 2024. If Edey doesn’t return, Purdue likely drops out of the top 25.
247Sports recruiting class rank: No. 3
Keep an eye on: Andre Jackson, Tristen Newton
Should Jackson and Newton return, UConn would move up. Right now, we have UConn going 1-for-2 in those decisions, with Newton coming back to Storrs and Jackson impressing NBA decision-makers enough to stay in the draft. Donovan Clingan looks like a potential All-American as he steps into the lion’s share of UConn’s post touches, and Alex Karaban is a terrific shooter next to him in the frontcourt. The recruiting class brings in a number of talented wings; if a couple of them hit, this is a national title contender yet again.
247Sports recruiting class rank: No. 28
Keep an eye on: Ron Holland, Grant Nelson
It’s transfer portal season, which means it’s Eric Musselman season. Few coaches are as comfortable recruiting the portal, or as good at it, as Arkansas is, with the Razorbacks remaking their team for 2023-24 through gets like Houston’s Tramon Mark, Temple’s Khalif Battle and Louisville’s El Ellis. Devo Davis and a healthy Trevon Brazile should be back from last year’s Sweet 16 team, while the recruiting class brings in two potential impact players in Baye Fall and Layden Blocker, and potentially a third in former Texas signee Holland, the nation’s top-ranked recruit. The Razorbacks aren’t done in the portal, either.
11. Tennessee
247Sports recruiting class rank: No. 17
A healthy Zakai Zeigler and Santiago Vescovi makes for one of the SEC’s best backcourts, and there’s depth here, particularly if Josiah-Jordan James comes back. The additions of Chris Ledlum and Dalton Knecht are big, but just as big is the continued development of Jonas Aidoo and Tobe Awaka.
12. FAU
247Sports recruiting class rank: No. 112
This could be too low for the Owls, who fended off opponents in the transfer portal to bring back the core of a team that went 35-4, finished a shot away from the national championship game and finished top 20 on KenPom. That includes stars Alijah Martin and Johnell Davis, who proved that they could match up with any duo in the country.
13. Alabama
247Sports recruiting class rank: No. 19
Alabama has some Jahvon Quinerly cover with combo guards Aaron Estrada (Hofstra) and Latrell Wrightsell (Cal State Fullerton) heading to Tuscaloosa. But if Quinerly returns alongside Mark Sears, this is the kind of backcourt that could drive Alabama deep in March. Rylan Griffen has star potential and Nick Pringle and Charles Bediako are back to patrol the paint.
14. Miami
247Sports recruiting class rank: No. 72
Isaiah Wong moving on stings, but don’t weep for the Hurricanes, who bring back three starters from a Final Four team and are still in play for a few big transfers. Nijel Pack came on as the season progressed; in Miami’s final 19 games, he averaged 15.5 points per game while shooting 47.7% from the floor, 43.9% from 3 and 91.7% from the free throw line. Wooga Poplar has earned praise as the Hurricanes’ next star and Norchad Omier is back as one of the nation’s best glue guy players.
15. Saint Mary’s
247Sports recruiting class rank: No. 69
The Gaels return five of their top seven players from a team that won 27 games, including an NCAA Tournament victory, before falling to eventual national champ UConn. Freshman sensation Aidan Mahaney could be even better as a sophomore, and he’ll have plenty of help in sharpshooter Alex Ducas, big man Mitchell Saxen and 6-4 creator Augustas Marciulionis. Saint Mary’s has had a top 15 defense in each of the last three years. Expect that trend to hold up.
16. Texas
247Sports recruiting class rank: N/A
The Longhorns tracked as a top-10 team, potentially a top-five team, before a rough offseason that saw both five-star commitments leave, Arterio Morris decommit and Tyrese Hunter and Dillon Mitchell enter the NBA Draft. Hunter and Mitchell can come back, and Max Abmas and Kadin Shedrick were tremendous transfer gets to go with returnees like Dylan Disu and Brock Cunningham, but barring more big transfers, Texas took a hit this offseason. Disu was among the nation’s best players down the stretch last year, and his injury absence might have been the only thing keeping Texas from a Final Four berth.
17. Texas A&M
247Sports recruiting class rank: No. 54
Buzz Williams guided Texas A&M to its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2018 and brings back a number of players responsible for that burst, which included a second-place finish in the SEC. Now they’ll try to see if they can get a bit further in the Big Dance, as they can return four starters from that team, including Tyrece Radford, Wade Taylor, Henry Coleman and Julius Marble. The Aggies went out and added help on the wing through the transfer portal in Eli Lawrence (Middle Tennessee State) and Jace Carter (Illinois-Chicago), as well.
18. Arizona
247Sports recruiting class rank: No. 67
Landing Alabama transfer guard Jaden Bradley was a coup; Bradley’s ability to get a piece of the paint any time he wants should pair well with the roster Arizona brings back. Oumar Ballo could be Pac-12 Player of the Year, and the wings like Kylan Boswell and Pelle Larsson have promise. If the Wildcats can add another big transfer and get some solid development from their young players, they’ll once again stand as one of the Pac-12’s best teams.
19. TCU
247Sports recruiting class rank: No. 48
The Horned Frogs can return four starters from the lineup they used down the stretch, with Delaware transfer Jameer Nelson Jr. looking like a like-for-like replacement for the departed Mike Miles Jr. But the Horned Frogs didn’t stop there, also adding Oklahoma State guard Avery Anderson III, another proven Big 12 player. The Horned Frogs could prove to be among the Big 12’s most dangerous teams.
20. Missouri
247Sports recruiting class rank: No. 23
A big part of this ranking depends on the return of Kobe Brown, should he push back the NBA for another season in Columbia. If he goes, Missouri will still have some nice pieces, including a deep, talented group of wings that added John Tonje, Caleb Grill and Tamar Bates through the transfer portal. The Tigers are still in the portal looking for help at the the four and five spots.
21. UNC
247Sports recruiting class rank: No. 31
The loss of Caleb Love to Michigan means that the Tar Heels have a bit more defined roles this year, with RJ Davis and Armando Bacot both projecting as All-ACC types. Adding Harrison Ingram from Stanford, Cormac Ryan from Notre Dame and Paxson Wojcik from Brown gives North Carolina three unselfish, ball-moving role players who look like great fits.
22. Kentucky
247Sports recruiting class rank: No. 1
The Wildcats missed out on the first top-25 ranking, but thy make a return here based on more and more rumblings that Oscar Tshiebwe makes his way back to Lexington. Without Tshiebwe, this is a team that could be a bubble team for the NCAA Tournament based on its youth. With him, it’s a team that could reach the second weekend of the tourney.
23. Maryland
247Sports recruiting class rank: No. 16
Missing on Dickinson likely kept Maryland from being a projected Sweet 16 team, but this is still a pretty strong squad with Jahmir Young, Donta Scott and Julian Reese back from a team that finished in KenPom’s top 25. Keep an eye on freshman Jamie Kaiser—if he hits the ground running, he could help take this team up a notch.
24. USC
247Sports recruiting class rank: No. 28
The Trojans have the potential to move higher. Boogie Ellis returning and USC getting a healthy Vince Iwuchukwu certainly helps, and a recruiting class that brings in the nation’s No. 2 player in Isaiah Collier. The addition of No. 26 overall player Bronny James gives the Trojans more defensive acumen in the backcourt, and if his offense develops, the Trojans can be a real factor in the Pac-12 title race.
25. Colorado
247Sports recruiting class rank: No. 21
The Buffaloes are bringing back four players who started double-digit games at Colorado a year ago, including all-Pac-12 candidates KJ Simpson and Tristan da Silva. To that, the Buffaloes added monster TCU big man Eddie Lampkin and five-star wing Cody Williams, Colorado’s highest-ranked get in the recruiting database era.
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