NCAAB · 1 year ago

Biggest Portal Losers: Top 10 Teams Left Empty-Handed This Offseason

David Connelly

Host · Writer

10. South Florida
Notable Departures: Kasean Pryor (Louisville), Chris Youngblood (Alabama), Selton Miguel (Maryland)

While Amir Abdur-Rahim has been consistently on the rise for the past two seasons since leading Kennesaw State to the NCAA Tournament in 2023, he now faces his first legitimate offseason challenge. After leading South Florida to its first regular-season conference title in program history, it was clear he would see a mass exodus to Power Six programs. That happened with his top three leading scorers now off to bigger programs. It's the nature of the beast in college hoops today, and the Bulls will undoubtedly be taking a step back in 2024-25.
1. Indiana State
Notable Departures: Robbie Avila (Saint Louis), Ryan Conwell (Xavier), Julian Larry (Texas)

Welcome to today's day and age of college basketball, where a program tallies its most wins in a season in nearly half a century and is gutted all five of its starters and head coach. That's the harsh reality that Indiana State is facing, with zero incoming transfers and a long rebuild ahead. The only shining light is that the rest of the Missouri Valley was stripped down, including other league contenders like Drake and Belmont.
2. Villanova
Notable Departures: TJ Bamba (Oregon), Brendan Hausen (Kansas State), Lance Ware (Available)

There may not be a hotter seat in college basketball than Kyle Neptune's entering the 2024-25 season. Things were already looking bleak this offseason with a lackluster transfer class incoming and plenty of departures. Still, things took a turn for the worse last week when VCU transfer Max Shulga changed his mind about his Villanova commitment to return to the Rams. It now leaves Penn's Tyler Perkins and La Salle's Jhamir Brickus as the lone transfers in. There isn't much to get excited about for the Wildcats next season, and this brutal roster could spell the end of the Neptune era if things get off to a rough start next year.
3. San Diego State
Notable Departures: Lamont Butler (Kentucky), Micah Parrish (Ohio State), Elijah Saunders (Virginia)

Just two seasons removed from a national championship game appearance, the Aztecs' cupboard is starting to look empty for next season. Butler and Parrish have departed via the portal, while Jaedon LeDee, Darrion Trammell, and Jay Pal have all graduated. It forced loads of pressure on Brian Dutcher to capitalize on the portal this offseason, and it's been a near strikeout. Florida Atlantic's Nick Boyd seems to be the only impactful transfer, meaning some returning bench players must take a step forward. While San Diego's Wayne McKinney and Middle Tennessee's Jared Coleman-Jones were double-digit scorers at their previous stops, we don't see them being difference-makers for a team losing a pair of them to the portal. Expect some serious regression from San Diego State in 2024-25.
4. Oregon State
Notable Departures: Jordan Pope (Texas), Tyler Bilodeau (UCLA), Dexter Akanno (Available)

The offseason for Wayne Tinkle and the Beavers has been a disaster. All three double-digit scorers from an Oregon State team that went 13-19 and finished 12th in the Pac-12 last season are gone, while they have brought in one transfer, Damarco Minor, from SIU-Edwardsville. There is just one starter returning from last year's team, and the lack of an impactful recruiting class incoming for the 2024-25 season means that things could get ugly quickly for Oregon State during their debut season in the WCC.
5. Colorado
Notable Departures: J'Vonne Hadley (Louisville), Eddie Lampkin (Syracuse), Luke O'Brien (Georgia Tech)

Few teams were as gutted as the Buffs this offseason. The team's top six scorers will not be returning to Boulder next year as Tristan da Silva, Cody Williams, and KJ Simpson have set their sights on the NBA. At the same time, Hadley, Lampkin, and O'Brien have found different destinations via the portal. Andrej Jakimovski is a solid pickup from Washington State, while Trevor Baskin is an unknown as a transfer from Colorado Mesa, a Division II program. Elijah Malone is the silver lining as the 2023-24 NAIA National Player of the Year out of Grace College in Indiana. He'll be heavily relied upon to transition to the Division I level as smoothly as possible.
6. Iowa
Notable Departures: Tony Perkins (Missouri), Patrick McCaffery (Butler), Dasonte Bowen (Available)

After missing out on the NCAA Tournament last season, it was up to Fran McCaffery to build around a team bringing back a significant portion of its production in 2024-25, making them potential contenders in the Big Ten. Not even his own son Patrick wanted in on that plan as he, Perkins, and Bowen departed the program in the portal. There isn't much coming in as things stand either, with Manhattan's Seydou Traore and Morehead State's Drew Thelwell as the lone incoming transfers.

The key piece to watch here is Payton Sandfort. The rising senior had a rough showing at the combine after garnering some early buzz in the offseason and is ultimately returning to Iowa for a final season. Given their current roster construction, the program needs him back as its true alpha in 2024-25.
7. Seton Hall
Notable Departures: Kadary Richmond (St. John's), Dre Davis (Ole Miss), Dylan Addae-Wusu (Available)

After narrowly missing the NCAA Tournament a season ago, it felt like there may be some unfinished business for Shaheen Holloway and his crew to get their ticket to the Big Dance in 2024-25. His players seemed to have felt otherwise, with his three most productive returners opting for the portal. While incoming transfers Scotty Middleton and Zion Harmon could be helpful contributors, it's a tall order to ask them to live up to the production Richmond and Davis provided in New Jersey a season ago.
8. Washington State
Notable Departures: Myles Rice (Indiana), Andrej Jakimovski (Colorado), Oscar Cluff (South Dakota State)

After sticking with Myles Rice through his cancer treatment in his redshirt freshman campaign, where he didn't play a minute, Washington State was awarded one of the country's top freshman guards last season. Rice was a constant catalyst for the Cougs, providing them high-level offense through his playmaking and scoring on a nightly basis. He became too much of a big fish in a small pond, and with the conference's move to the WCC, it made sense for Rice to seek to remain at the Power Six level. Add Jakimovski and Cluff's departures to the portal, as well as Jaylen Wells to the NBA, and this roster looks like an empty cupboard ahead of the upcoming season.
9. Wisconsin
Notable Departures: Chucky Hepburn (Louisville), AJ Storr (Kansas), Connor Essegian (Nebraska)

Hepburn and Storr are monumental backcourt losses for Wisconsin. After toppling Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament last season, it felt like there was some momentum entering the NCAA Tournament last season. That was swept away quickly with a defeat to Illinois in the Big Ten Championship and a first-round upset to James Madison. Had the Badgers pulled those games out, perhaps Greg Gard would have been able to keep some of his more impactful players. Instead, they are off to new destinations, and he is left with a lackluster incoming class of transfers.
10. South Florida
Notable Departures: Kasean Pryor (Louisville), Chris Youngblood (Alabama), Selton Miguel (Maryland)

While Amir Abdur-Rahim has been consistently on the rise for the past two seasons since leading Kennesaw State to the NCAA Tournament in 2023, he now faces his first legitimate offseason challenge. After leading South Florida to its first regular-season conference title in program history, it was clear he would see a mass exodus to Power Six programs. That happened with his top three leading scorers now off to bigger programs. It's the nature of the beast in college hoops today, and the Bulls will undoubtedly be taking a step back in 2024-25.
1. Indiana State
Notable Departures: Robbie Avila (Saint Louis), Ryan Conwell (Xavier), Julian Larry (Texas)

Welcome to today's day and age of college basketball, where a program tallies its most wins in a season in nearly half a century and is gutted all five of its starters and head coach. That's the harsh reality that Indiana State is facing, with zero incoming transfers and a long rebuild ahead. The only shining light is that the rest of the Missouri Valley was stripped down, including other league contenders like Drake and Belmont.

Biggest Portal Losers: Top 10 Teams Left Empty-Handed This Offseason

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