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College basketball transfer portal 2024: The top 15 available prospects after initial wave of spring entries – 247Sports
The college basketball transfer portal window opened Monday with a record-setting 291 players entering on Day 1. That total reached 736 names Friday morning, just four days since the spring window began, smashing the mark from last year of 531 entries. The number continues to climb as the season comes to an end for most programs — some of which opted to make a change at head coach. The activity in the portal does not expect to slow down any time soon with the NCAA Tournament and other postseason events ongoing.
Among the early transfer portal entries are a pair of former McDonald’s All-Americans — Oklahoma State big man Brandon Garrison and Stanford wing Andrej Stojakovic. Both opted to pursue new opportunities after the firing of coaches Mike Boynton and Jerod Haase last week. Stanford center Maxime Raynaud also entered the portal as a valuable center prospect.
Some of the top transfers in the 2024 cycle are already coming off the board, but there is plenty of high-level talent still available, including a handful from high-major programs. The spring portal window remains open until May 1.
RELATED: NCAA Tournament’s top 10 transfer stars
Below is a closer look at the 15 best-available prospects in the college basketball transfer portal as of Friday at 10:35 a.m. ET:
Transfer portal rating: 4-star | 93 rating | No. 2 PG | No. 17 overall
Bensley Joseph helped Miami reach the Final Four last season and saw an increased role for the Hurricanes as a junior in 2023-24. The 6-foot-2, 196-pound guard averaged 9.7 points, 2.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game this season, making 26 starts. Joseph brings experience as a transfer with 104 career games played in three seasons. He shoots 40.4% from the field and 38.5% from 3-point range.
Transfer portal rating: 4-star | 93 rating | No. 3 SG | No. 16 overall
Mekhi Mason enters the portal after two seasons at Rice. The former Gilbert (Ariz.) Compass Prep standout averaged 14.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game this season as a sophomore with the Owls. He shot just 39.6% from the field, but connected on 35.8% of his 3-point attempts. Mason started in all 68 games played at Rice. He earned a spot on the Conference USA All-Freshman Team in 2023.
Transfer portal rating: 4-star | 93 rating | No. 4 PF | No. 15 overall
Tarris Reed produced a solid sophomore campaign at Michigan before entering the transfer portal following the firing of head coach Juwan Howard. The 6-foot-10, 265-pound power forward averaged 9.0 points, 7.2 rebounds and blocked 46 shots while making 31 starts in 32 games played for the Wolverines this season. Reed hit 51.8% of his field goals in two seasons in Ann Arbor, but made just 51.7% of his free throws. Reed ranked as a top-50 prospect coming out of Link Academy in the 2022 recruiting class and picked Michigan over Michigan State, Ohio State, Purdue and others.
Transfer portal rating: 4-star | 93 rating | No. 2 SG | No. 14 overall
Dakota Leffew has one additional year of eligibility remaining after four seasons at Mount St. Mary’s. The 6-foot-5, 185-pound veteran shooting guard averaged a career-best 17.6 points per game this season for the Mountaineers, while adding 4.3 rebounds and 3.9 assists. Leffew shot 43% from the field, including 36.5% from 3-point range. He surpassed 1,000 career points in 99 games played.
Transfer portal rating: 4-star | 93 rating | No. 3 PF | No. 13 overall
A Nebraska native, Frankie Fidler hit the portal after three seasons at Omaha where he started in 58 of 61 games. The 6-foot-7, 217-pound junior power forward averaged 20.1 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game this season as the second-leading scorer in the Summit League. Fidler already surpassed 1,500 career points with 499 rebounds and a career 35.4% 3-point conversion rate. While the in-state programs of Creighton and Nebraska make the most sense, Fidler could see additional attention from other high-major teams.
Transfer portal rating: 4-star | 93 rating | No. 2 PF | No. 12 overall
Malik Dia is now a two-time transfer that spent this past season at Belmont after making the crosstown move from Vanderbilt where he started his college career in 2022-23. The 6-foot-9, 240-pound forward averaged 16.9 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game for the Bruins while shooting 48.8% from the field and 34.1% from 3-point range. Dia still has two years of eligibility remaining and should see high-major interest once again.
Transfer portal rating: 4-star | 93 rating | No. 5 C | No. 11 overall
Jevon Porter is one of several top transfers from Pepperdine. The 6-foot-11, 225-pound sophomore and brother of Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. averaged 16.2 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.7 assists while shooting 42.5% from the field this past season. The younger Porter has two years of eligibility remaining. Porter finished second in scoring this season for the Waves. He earned All-WCC honorable mention to close out the 2023-24 campaign.
Transfer portal rating: 4-star | 94 rating | No. 4 C | No. 8 overall
Amari Williams, a veteran 6-foot-10, 265-pound big man from Drexel, expects to be a popular target in the transfer portal for teams in need of a rim protector. Williams has an additional year of eligibility remaining. In four seasons with the Dragons, Williams scored more than 1,000 points, grabbed more than 700 rebounds and blocked nearly 200 shots. The three-time CAA Defensive Player of the Year averaged 12.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game this season.
Transfer portal rating: 4-star | 94 rating | No. 1 PF | No. 7 overall
Michael Ajayi led Pepperdine in scoring this past season, his first at the Division I level after transferring in from junior college. The Washington native averaged 17.2 points, 9.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game for the Waves while shooting 46.7% from the field, including 47.0% from 3-point range with 83 attempts. Ajayi is already garnering interest from high-majors as a 6-foot-7, 220-pound junior with one year of eligibility remaining.
Transfer portal rating: 4-star | 94 rating | No. 1 PG | No. 6 overall
Dug McDaniel spent two seasons at Michigan under Juwan Howard, but with the Wolverines moving on from their head coach, the 5-foot-11, 175-pound point guard is in pursuit of new options. McDaniel has two years of eligibility remaining. He doubled his average scoring output this past season as a sophomore, recording a team-high 16.3 points per game, as well as 3.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists. McDaniel ranked as the No. 113 overall recruit nationally coming out of Virginia in the 2022 class.
Transfer portal rating: 4-star | 95 rating | No. 1 CG | No. 5 overall
Kanaan Carlyle entered the transfer portal Tuesday after announcing his intentions to leave Stanford following the firing of head coach Jerod Haase. The 6-foot-3, 185-pound freshman averaged 11.5 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game this season. Carlyle missed the first month of the schedule for the Cardinal but returned in December. He shot 38.6% from the field. Carlyle ranked as the No. 59 overall recruit coming out of the 2023 cycle. Now, the Georgia native expects to be a hot commodity in the portal.
Transfer portal rating: 4-star | 95 rating | No. 1 SF | No. 4 overall
Andrej Stojakovic is one of two McDonald’s All-Americans that entered the portal Monday. The Stanford freshman and son of former NBA star Peja Stojakovic averaged 7.8 points, 3.4 rebounds and 0.9 assists this season while shooting 32.9% from 3-point range. The 6-foot-7, 190-pound small forward ranked as the No. 19 overall recruit in the 2023 class. Stojakovic departed the Cardinal following the firing of head coach Jerod Haase.
Transfer portal rating: 4-star | 95 rating | No. 3 C | No. 3 overall
Freshman big man Brandon Garrison, another McDonald’s All-American, announced his decision to leave Oklahoma State after the firing of head coach Mike Boynton. The 6-foot-11, 245-pound center averaged 7.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.5 blocks this season for the Pokes, starting in 29 of 32 games. Garrison ranked as No. 45 overall recruit and top high school prospect in Oklahoma for the 2023 cycle. He picked Oklahoma State over additional options that included Arkansas, Houston, Kansas and Oklahoma.
Transfer portal rating: 4-star | 96 rating | No. 2 C | No. 2 overall
Clifford Omoruyi spent the past four seasons at Rutgers, but will take his talents elsewhere for an additional year of eligibility in 2024-25. The 6-foot-11, 240-pound center averaged double-digit scoring in each of his final three seasons with the Scarlet Knights, including 10.4 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.9 blocks per game (third-most in Division I) during the 2023-24 campaign. Omoruyi started in every game for Rutgers the past three seasons. A native of Nigeria, Omoruyi ranks among the top-6 in program history for field goal percentage (.549), blocks (221), rebounds (933) and single-season blocks (93).
Transfer portal rating: 4-star | 96 rating | No. 1 C | No. 1 overall
France native Maxime Raynaud spent three seasons at Stanford where he developed into a talented center. The 7-foot-1, 250-pound big man averaged 15.5 points, 9.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game as a junior this season. He also posted a career-high 26 blocks in 32 games played. Raynaud recorded 12 double-doubles for the Cardinal, but departed from the program following the firing of head coach Jerod Haas. Raynaud won a Gold Medal with France and led the team in scoring at the 2023 FIBA U-20 European Championships in Greece.
This article originates on 247Sports.
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