Transfer Portal Recruiting Intel Live Blog
The college basketball transfer portal opened on March 13, and we are just over a month in. More than 1,450 names have entered. These recruitments happen quickly, oftentimes with not much noise surrounding them. More players are going in by the minute, and players are committing each day.
2023 On3 Transfer Portal Rankings
The second recruiting dead period just ended on April 13. A recruiting dead period is when college coaches cannot have any in-person contact with recruits and/or their parents. However, we are approaching back-to-back high school live recruiting periods, April 21-23 and April 28-30. This is the period when college coaches can be at certified events for the in-person evaluation of college recruits.
The transfer portal will be open for first-time, non-graduate players to enter without penalty for 60 days from the March 13 date.
Read last week’s Transfer Portal Recruiting Intel Live Blog
While the amount of players going into the portal is slowing down, there continue to be some big names that hit the portal daily. Here is this week’s April 17-23 up-to-date live blog of all the recruiting intel from the transfer portal.
Thursday, April 20
CG Hunter Sallis – Gonzaga
Hunter Sallis was the No. 19 player in the 2021 On3 Industry Ranking. Out of high school, Sallis chose Gonzaga over a group that included Kentucky, UNC, UCLA, Kansas, Iowa State, Creighton, and Oregon. Listed at 6-foot-5, the sophomore averaged 4.5 points in 16.7 minutes for a 31-6 Gonzaga team last season.
After entering the portal, programs like UConn and Arkansas, among others, reached out, showing interest. Sallis is currently on a visit to Wake Forest. The Deacons are selling the fact they have had consecutive first-team All-ACC guards out of the transfer portal. HuskerOnline’s Robin Washut reported Sallis will leave Winston-Salem and head to Nebraska for a visit. Sallis is an Omaha, Nebraska native, and his Omaha (NE) Millard North High School is less than 50 miles from the Nebraska campus.
While sources are saying these are the two programs to look for, watch to see if he sets any further visits.
PG Jaden Bradley – Alabama
Jaden Bradley was the No. 27 player in the 2022 On3 Industry Ranking. The 6-foot-3 point guard from Bradenton (FL) IMG Academy earned 22 starts for Alabama in his freshman season.
Things have been kept relatively quiet around this recruitment. The former McDonald’s All-American visited NC State and Memphis this week. One source said when Bradley entered the portal to watch for NC State. More recently, another source has suggested watching for Leonard Hamilton and Florida State. Taking a look back at his initial recruitment, Arizona was the presumed runner-up to Alabama. The circle is being kept tight here, and information is close to the vest. Watch to see if any other programs pop up and for a commitment timeline.
PG Javon Small – East Carolina
Javon Small averaged 15.8 points, 5.6 assists, and 1.2 steals last season at East Carolina. The 6-foot-2 sophomore was one of only two players in D1 men’s basketball to average more than 15 points, 4.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists, and a steal per game.
Small came out last week with three visits he would be taking, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Ohio State. As things are winding down, sources say Oklahoma State is carrying a lot of momentum. The Ohio State visit was canceled, and Oklahoma just added Javian McCollum from Siena.
Wednesday, April 19
SF Quincy Guerrier – Oregon
Oregon grad transfer Quincy Guerrier put his name into the transfer portal late yesterday. The 6-foot-7 wing forward has scored 1,280 career points between his two years at Syracuse and two years with the Ducks. In his final year at Syracuse, the Montreal, Quebec native was third-team All-ACC.
While things are still early in this one, one school we are hearing is Illinois. Watch to see if any visits are set, or a timeline is announced. Stay tuned.
PG Max Abmas – Oral Roberts
Max Abmas, a 6-foot-1 grad transfer from Oral Roberts, has scored 2,561 career points. He will enter next season as NCAA D1’s active career point total leader. Abmas has twice been named Summit League Player of the Year and three times first-team All-Summit. Abmas coach at Oral Roberts, Paul Mills, is now the head coach at Wichita State.
Last week we wrote that sources said Texas and Kansas State were the two programs we continue to hear. We are now being told this one may be coming down the home stretch. Abmas visited Kansas State last weekend. Gerry Hamilton of Inside Texas is reporting that Abmas will visit Texas this week. Sources say that both the Kansas State and Texas staffs have confidence with the Dallas native. Pay close attention to how this Texas visit goes and if a commitment date is set.
SF Matthew Cleveland – Florida State
Matthew Cleveland was the leading scorer for Florida State this season. The 6-foot-7 sophomore wing averaged 13.8 points on 46.4 percent from the field and 35.0 percent from three.
Things have been somewhat quiet around Cleveland’s recruitment. Sources say four schools to watch for in the former five-star prospect’s recruitment are Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, and Miami. I am told that visits should be happening soon, and I am hearing there is room for a fifth school to work its way in, but things could also stay here. Watch to see which visits are set, which are taken, and monitor the timeline.
SG Caleb Grill – Iowa State
Caleb Grill averaged 9.5 points on 36.8 percent shooting from three last season for Iowa State. The 6-foot-3 grad transfer from Maize, Kansas, jumped on the scene last season with a 31-point outburst against North Carolina at the Phil Knight Classic. He hit numerous big shots after that for an Iowa State team that averaged 67.6 points, the bottom third of D1 men’s basketball.
Grill is currently on campus at West Virginia. Sources say there is momentum building toward the Mountaineers this week. The shooting guard had a visit scheduled with Missouri just before his trip to Morgantown. Watch to see how his timeframe shapes up moving forward.
Tuesday, April 18
SG Carlos Stewart – Santa Clara
Carlos Stewart had a lot of buzz when he entered the transfer portal The 6-foot-1 guard earned first-team All-WCC status after averaging 15.2 points and shooting 40.3 percent from three last season. Once college programs saw the stats, they turned on the film and started inquiring.
Stewart is a native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where he graduated from The Dunham School. While there was always talk of him returning to his hometown, sources say the momentum to LSU has really picked up over the last 48 hours. Things have been relatively quiet around this recruitment since Stewart entered his name into the portal. Watch to see the timing of his commitment. Will it be soon?
SF Jack Clark – NC State
Jack Clark transferred to NC State after playing his first three years of eligibility at LaSalle. The native of Cheltenham, Pennsylvania, started 17 of 23 games for the Wolfpack last season. Clark showed off a 20.6 player efficiency rating and 7.5 box plus minus on a 16.3 usage percentage. He was one of only six players in D1 who played more than 600 minutes to get that type of production.
Clark issued a top four that included Xavier, Villanova, Clemson, and Arkansas. Heading into the commitment, sources say that Clemson has put in a lot of work and is building momentum. Villanova was the program mentioned most early in the process.
SF Devan Cambridge – Arizona State
Nashville, Tennessee native Devan Cambridge started 33 games and played his first three seasons of college ball at Auburn. The 6-foot-6 wing transferred last season to Arizona State, where he averaged 9.8 points and 5.4 rebounds.
Cambridge scheduled a visit to Oregon last week, and Jon Rothstein reported he will visit Auburn this week. Sources close to the recruitment say there is momentum surrounding a return to Auburn. Cambridge did not enter the transfer portal as a graduate transfer, which means he still needs to graduate. Rothstein also mentioned Texas Tech and Clemson being involved. Cambridge has won 89 games in his college career.
Monday, April 17
SG Aaron Estrada – Hofstra
Aaron Estrada announced he would be deciding between Cincinnati, Florida State, Kansas State, and Alabama on April 29th. The CAA Player of the Year took his visit to Cincinnati last weekend and canceled his visit to Florida State this weekend.
I am hearing a lot of chatter around Alabama for this one, as sources say the momentum is building. Estrada scheduled a visit to Kansas State at the end of this week. Continue to watch if that visit is taken. We are still 12 days out from that April 29 commitment date.
PG Austin Nunez – Arizona State
Austin Nunez played in 28 games as a freshman at Arizona State. The 6-foot-2 guard averaged 16.8 minutes and started two games on the season, putting up 4.5 points and shooting 37.7 percent from three.
It was reported that Nunez will be on campus at Ole Miss to start this week. Chris Beard developed a relationship with Nunez while he was at Texas, having the Longhorns in the final group the first go around. Sources say momentum is building, and to keep an eye on this visit.
PF Ben Middlebrooks – Clemson
Clemson sophomore transfer Ben Middlebrooks took a visit to NC State last weekend. Once he left Raleigh, he went straight to visit Auburn on Sunday. There is an interesting tie to Auburn, as Middlebrooks’ father went to college there. Watch to see how this one develops
Middlebrooks entered college a year early and played two seasons at Clemson. The 6-foot-10, 225-pound interior presence started 11 games over the two seasons and averaged 11.3 minutes per game last season.
SF MJ Rice – Kansas
MJ Rice is a former four-star recruit, ranked No. 29 in the 2022 On3 Industry Ranking. The 6-foot-5, 215-pound freshman played in 23 games and averaged 7.5 minutes for Kansas last season.
Rice made a visit to NC State this weekend. The Wolfpack were heavily involved with him out of high school, and coming out of the weekend, sources say there is some smoke around this recruitment. Rice is originally from Creedmoor, North Carolina, which is less than 48 miles from the NC State campus. Rice played travel ball with the Team Loaded NC program on the Adidas circuit. Oklahoma State was the third school, along with the G-League, as the four finalists out of high school. Monitor.
SF Myles Stute – Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt junior Myles Stute is a 6-foot-7, 215-pound wing that shot 39.4 percent from three on 5.5 attempts over the last two seasons.
The SEC veteran took an official visit to South Carolina over the weekend. He was also scheduled to go see UC Santa Barbara. Coming out of the visit to Columbia, sources say there is a lot of confidence with the Gamecocks staff. The Washington (DC) Gonzaga College graduate heard from the likes of Louisville, Pittsburgh, Butler, Xavier, and others after putting his name in the portal.
CG Jared Bynum – Providence
Jared Bynum has scored 1,116 career points in 76 starts between his year at St. Joseph’s and three seasons at Providence. The 5-foot-10 guard from Washington (DC) Georgetown Prep has also shot 36.3 percent from beyond the arc in 223 attempts over his last two seasons.
Bynum visited Stanford this weekend. Sources say the visit went well, and there is momentum building for the Cardinal.
CG El Ellis – Louisville
El Ellis finished top ten in the ACC in scoring (17.7) and assists (4.4) this season. On3 reported toward the end of last week that Arkansas, NC State, Miami, and Pittsburgh were the four programs to focus on with the Durham, North Carolina native. Sources say that Arkansas is carrying the momentum coming out of the weekend.
Ellis, a 6-foot-3 guard, also declared for the NBA draft, which is a process sources say he will see through, and if he can get a two-way contract, it will be something he strongly considers.
SF Jalen Hill – Oklahoma
Jalen Hill started 73 games in his four-year career at Oklahoma. He averaged 9.7 points and 5.8 rebounds last season. Programs like Baylor, Miami, Texas, Kansas, and Houston showed interest in the 6-foot-6 wing. Hill visited UNLV at the end of last week, and sources say that the Rebels have a lot of confidence coming out of that visit. Hill graduated from Las Vegas (NV) Clark High.