MIRROR, MIRROR ON THE WALL, WHO HAS MADE THE GREATEST PORTAL HAUL?

This is going to be a tricky post.  Whatever I lay down as text could change drastically in the next few minutes, hours or days.  That's how hard it's going to be to assess the portal winners and for that fact, the losers, in Men's and Women's College Basketball.  A roster can change that quick.  

Let's take a look at the portal euphoria.  Over 1,600 players put their names "in" in the first two weeks of eligibility.  Mostly because it became important for schools and players to make difficult choices as soon as possible so that they could have their commitments ready while NIL money was still available.  Once revenue sharing kicks in, if in fact it does, things will take other forms of change.  We just can't wait, right?  Think if you were a college coach and trying to figure out your roster for 2025-26.  Good luck!!  

The early team winners include Louisville (3 commits), Michigan (2), Arizona State (2), Baylor (3), Saint John's (2), Creighton (3), Iowa (5), Iowa State (3) and possibly Indiana (2).  TCU is no doubt lurking in the woods as they have seemingly found an unlimited amount of money for basketball (both men's and women's) and football.  

Here are the names of the top players moving on:  

1. Bennett Stirtz (Drake → Iowa) 

2. Donovan Dent (New Mexico → UCLA)

3. Morez Johnson (Illinois → Michigan) 

4. Oscar Cluff (South Dakota State → Purdue)

5. Nick Davidson (Nevada → Clemson)

6. Malik Reneau (Indiana → Miami)

7. Tucker DeVries (West Virginia → Indiana)

8. Dailyn Swain (Xavier → Texas)

9. Owen Freeman (Iowa → Creighton)

10. Ryan Conwell (Xavier → Louisville)

11. Tre Donaldson (Michigan → Miami)

12. Silas Demary Jr (Georgia → Connecticut)

13. Quimari Peterson (East Tennessee State → Washington)

14. Elliot Cadeau (North Carolina → Michigan)

15. Keyshawn Hall (UCF → Auburn)

16. Michael Rataj (Oregon State → Baylor)

17. Adrian Wooley (Kennesaw State → Louisville)

18. Blake Buchanan (Virginia → Iowa State)

19. Moe Odum (Pepperdine → Arizona State)

20. Izaiyah Nelson (Arkansas State → South Florida)

21. Joson Sanon (Arizona State → Saint John's)

22. Brock Harding (Iowa → TCU)

23. Nate Kingz (Oregon State → Syracuse)

24. Michael Nwoko (Mississippi State → LSU)

25. Paul Otieno (Quinnipiac → Saint Louis)

26. Kaleb Banks (Tulane → DePaul)

27. Obi Agbim (Wyoming → Baylor)

28. Adam Clark (Merrimack → Seton Hall)

29. Joseph Pinion (Arkansas State → South Florida)

30. Cam Manyawu (Drake → Iowa)

31. Marcus Adams Jr (Cal State Northridge → Arizona State)

32. Nik Graves (Charlotte → Creighton)

33. Bryce Hopkins (Providence → Saint John's)

34. JJ White (Omaha → Baylor)

35. Evan Mahaffey (Ohio State → Akron)

The losers???  For certain teams like Robert Morris, Indiana, Maryland, Iowa and West Virginia experienced significant roster losses.  Some lost entire starting lineups or key players.  Others like Kansas are facing pivotal off-season's with key departures.  

The Women's game is no different. Over 1,200 players entered their names. There will some teams that look decidedly different in 2025-26. Notre Dame lost star guard Olivia Miles most likely to TCU.  The Fighting Irish have also lost other key personnel.  Head coach, Niele Ivey will have her work cut out for her.  Sounds like the Irish should now be called the In-Fighting Irish.  Super star Hannah Hidalgo is reportedly the issue as her attitude has affected team morale and her stardom seems to have caused friction within the ranks.  USC will have a battle to remain competitive in the Big Ten.  The Trojans lost JuJu Watkins for next season due to her ACL injury, but they also lost Avery Howell, a terrific freshman sharpshooter to the portal.  Early reports have her heading to Washington or Iowa.  Early leaders in the team portal race show Mississippi, Louisville and Miami (FL) leading the pack.  Losers????  Florida State, Penn State and Arizona.

Top hot nugget Latson 

The top nugget that hasn't declared yet is Ta' Niya Latson of Florida State, the leading scorer in the country this past year with 25.2 points per game.  South Carolina lean or USC?  Perhaps....One player I really like is the double-double forward Serah Williams out of Wisconsin.  She'd be a perfect complement to Iowa's Hannah Stuelke and Ava Heiden and give the Hawkeyes a force on the boards and defensively.   And not to be forgotten is Ohio State's Cotie McMahon.  Not sure why anyone would want to add that selfish cancer to their locker room.  One program that comes to mind is LSU.  A perfect marriage.  

While this is an exciting time as teams hope to boost their roster, it's also a difficult one.  It wouldn't take much for a player to feel recruited over and look to move on at the first opportunity.  Yes, that's what we're in now, a time of opportunity.  Who's going to make money (as a player) and who's going to spend (as a team).   

The Men's dead period ends on April 11th, the Women's on April 8th.  Players can travel and meet with teams face to face to decide their fate beginning then.   Get ready.  There's more to come. 

So, mirror, mirror on the wall...  How is this portal thing going to play out?  Can you share your knowledge with us?  Heck, I don't think you even know. 

And you're supposed to know everything.