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College basketball transfer portal: Top 10 pound-for-pound classes in 2024, ranked – 247Sports
Several of the nation’s biggest college basketball programs entered the offseason looking for quality over quantity in the transfer portal. Reigning national champion UConn only added two transfers in the portal after returning five of its top nine scorers. Preseason top five North Carolina also had the luxury to pick and choose in the portal and filled two needs with highly-touted transfers.
The Huskies and Tar Heels’ portal classes don’t pop off the page, checking in at No. 40 and No. 46 in the transfer class rankings. However, they skyrocket into the top 10 classes when sorted by average rating per commit. Other blue bloods, including Kansas and Duke, also jump in using the pound-for-pound method, usurping teams like West Virginia (seven commits) and USC (nine), whose ranking is skewed by large commitment numbers.
Some schools managed to add both quantity and quality this offseason. Mark Pope and Kentucky barely missed the top 10 after adding eight transfers this offseason, while John Calipari’s Arkansas and Mike Woodson’s Indiana cracked the top 10 with five-man transfer classes.
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Here are the top 10 pound-for-pound college basketball transfer portal classes, ranked:
15. FLORIDA GATORS
Commits: 3 | Average Player Rating: 92.67
Overall Class Ranking: No. 31
The Gators added a trio of top-150 prospects, but none rank inside the top 100.
14. TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS
Commits: 4 | Average Player Rating: 93.0
Overall Class Ranking: No. 13
Losing Jonas Aidoo hurt, but Tennessee should benefit from the presence of shooting guard Chaz Lanier (No. 11) and two other top-150 transfers.
13. KENTUCKY WILDCATS
Commits: 8 | Average Player Rating: 93.13
Overall Class Ranking: No. 5
No college basketball program landed more four-star transfers this cycle than Kentucky, with eight.
12. MICHIGAN WOLVERINES
Commits: 6 | Average Player Rating: 93.17
Overall Class Ranking: No. 9
New Michigan head coach Dusty May quickly revamped the Wolverines’ frontcourt, landing Yale standout Danny Wolf (No. 29) and 7-footer Vladislav Goldin (No. 27) from FAU.
11. MISSOURI TIGERS
Commits: 4 | Average Player Rating: 93.25
Overall Class Ranking: No. 12
The Tigers added a quartet of four-stars, including former Duke power forward Mark Mitchell (No. 17) and Iowa veteran point guard Tony Perkins (No. 56).
Commits: 5 | Average Player Rating: 93.40
Overall Class Ranking: No. 2
Mike Woodson is entering a crucial 2024-25 season and left nothing on the table in the transfer portal this offseason. The Hoosiers grabbed the No. 2 overall transfer portal prospect of the cycle in former Arizona big man Oumar Ballo and four others rated inside the top 150. Indiana should benefit from improved backcourt play after adding a trio of guards, including Pac-12 Freshman of the Year Myles Rice and versatile scoring threat Kanaan Carlyle from Stanford.
Commits: 4 | Average Player Rating: 93.67
Overall Class Ranking: No. 21
Duke signed the nation’s No. 1 overall recruiting class and added veteran talent around it with the ACC’s top-ranked transfer group. The Blue Devils are the only team with three players among the ACC’s top 15 transfers: Sion James (No. 65), Maliq Brown (No. 70) and Mason Gillis (No. 95). Gillis seems destined for a bench role due to his limited offensive upside, but Brown and James should be instant-impact players in Durham. James was the last piece of Duke’s offseason puzzle and projects as one of the best perimeter defenders in the league next season.
Commits: 3 | Average Player Rating: 93.75
Overall Class Ranking: No. 3
Head coach Rick Pitino aims to turn St. John’s around quickly. The Red Storm landed the No. 1 overall transfer prospect in former Seton Hall point guard Kadary Richmond a day after it secured former Utah point guard Deivon Smith (No. 13). A pair of four-stars in center Vincent Iwuchukwu, a former top-30 recruit, and small forward Aaron Scott, who shot 37% from 3 at North Texas last season, round out St. John’s class.
Commits: 2 | Average Player Rating: 94.0
Overall Class Ranking: No. 46
UNC boasts one of the nation’s best backcourts and hit the portal this offseason looking to add talent along the wing and in the paint. The Tar Heels landed small forward Cade Tyson (No. 37) and power forward Ven-Allen Lubin (No. 116). Tyson is the highest-ranked transfer to commit to an ACC school this offseason, while Lubin gives UNC upside in the frontcourt after averaging 12.3 points and 6.3 rebounds as a sophomore at Vanderbilt last season.
Commits: 4 | Average Player Rating: 94.0
Overall Class Ranking: No. 7
Alabama reached the Final Four this season with the help of last season’s No. 5 transfer class and is looking to follow the same recipe this season. Head coach Nate Oats secured one of the best transfer centers of the cycle in former Rutgers big man Clifford Omoruyi, the No. 14 overall transfer. The 6-foot-11, 240-pound veteran averaged 10.4 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.9 blocks per game this past season. Alabama landed two other top-100 players, including Auburn defect Aden Holloway (No. 42).
Commits: 2 | Average Player Rating: 94.50
Overall Class Ranking: No. 42
Gonzaga returns every rotation piece from last season’s Sweet 16 team besides Anton Watson. Mark Few didn’t have many open roster spots to work with but managed to land two big pieces in small forward Michael Ajayi and shooting guard Khalif Battle (No. 51). Ajayi started his career at a community college before joining Pepperdine for the 2023-24 season. He averaged 17.2 points and 9.9 rebounds per game, shooting 46.7% from the field and 47.0% from the 3-point line. He has the look of an instant-impact player for the Bulldogs next season.
Commits: 2 | Average Player Rating: 94.50
Overall Class Ranking: No. 40
UConn’s class is an example of why the average player rating metric is so important. The Huskies’ No. 40 overall rating doesn’t pop off the page, but its two commits sure do. Shooting guard Aidan Mahaney (No. 25) averaged 13.9 points and shot 35.5% from the 3-point line at Saint Mary’s last season and looks like a perfect fit for Dan Hurley’s offense. Former Michigan center Tarris Reed (No. 80) helps fill a void in the Huskies’ frontcourt with Donovan Clingan off to the NBA. He averaged 9.0 points and 7.2 rebounds and shot 51.9% from the field as a sophomore last season.
Commits: 5 | Average Player Rating: 95.40
Overall Class Ranking: No. 1
Arkansas had nine players hit the portal after Eric Musselman left for USC, but new head coach John Calipari quickly reloaded the Razorbacks’ roster. He brought three four-star transfers with him from Kentucky, small forward Adou Thiero (No. 31), combo guard DJ Wagner (No. 37) and center Zvonimir Ivisic (No. 53). Calipari made his biggest splash when he landed former FAU guard Johnell Davis (No. 3). Davis averaged 18.2 points per game and shot a blistering 43.4% from the 3-point line last season.
Commits: 4 | Average Player Rating: 95.67
Overall Class Ranking: No. 6
Kansas is the likely preseason No. 1 after returning Hunter Dickinson, KJ Adams and Dajuan Harris and and adding a deep and talented transfer portal class to its 2024-25 roster. The Jayhawks’ four-man class includes former Wisconsin shooting guard AJ Storr, who ranks as the No. 4 overall transfer after leading the Badgers with 16.8 points per game this past season. Kansas signed two other top-50 prospects, point guard Zeke Mayo (No. 26) and small forward Rylan Griffen (No. 40).
Commits: 3 | Average Player Rating: 96.50
Overall Class Ranking: No. 20
Baylor had the luxury to pursue quality over quantity in the transfer portal after returning three of its top seven scorers from a team that clinched a No. 3 seed in the 2024 NCAA Tournament. The Bears’ three-man class is highlighted by ex-Miami Hurricane Norchad Omier, the No. 5 overall transfer and No. 1 power forward, and former Duke star Jeremy Roach, the No. 12 overall transfer and No. 3 point guard. Unrated guard Jalen Celestine from Cal rounds out the Bears’ class.
“As far as the group overall, it’s a talented group, but it’s an experienced group,” coach Scott Drew said regarding Baylor’s portal class. “Most of all, they fit the Baylor culture. Life is short; you want to be around people that you love and enjoy being with.”
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