The Transfer Portal Just Exploded and These Four Players Are About to Change College Basketball

The buzzer sounded on Michigan's national championship win Monday night just before 11:20 p.m. ET. About 40 minutes later, the transfer portal opened. By the next morning, more than 1,000 Division I men's basketball players had already entered. Three days later? Over 2,000 players. The floodgates are officially open, and this year's portal class is shaping up to be the biggest ever.

The NCAA changed the rules earlier this year, and now the transfer window in men's basketball runs for just two weeks, April 7 through April 21. Coaches are bracing for the total to top 3,000 players entering the portal this year, crushing the nearly 2,700 from last year and the 2,100 from 2024. It's chaos. It's also how the sport works now.

Milan Momcilovic Is the Obvious Number One

Iowa State's Milan Momcilovic is the cream of the crop in this year's portal class. The 6-foot-8 junior was flat out the best shooter in college basketball this season, ranking first in 3-point percentage at 48.7% and fifth nationally in total 3-pointers made. He averaged 16.9 points and 3.1 rebounds and is being projected as an immediate All-American candidate wherever he lands next. Oh, and he's also in the NBA draft conversation as a projected second-round pick. Wherever he goes, that program gets a legitimate difference maker.

Three More Players Ready to Reshape Their New Teams

Right behind Momcilovic is Kansas big man Flory Bidunga, a 6-foot-10 sophomore heading to Louisville. Bidunga had a massive breakout year, jumping from 5.9 points and 5.4 rebounds to 13.3 points and 9.0 rebounds while adding 2.6 blocks per game. He's one of college basketball's elite post defenders, shot 64% from the floor, and already earned all-conference honors in the Big 12. That's the kind of two-way impact player any team dreams about landing.

Wisconsin's John Blackwell, a 6-foot-4 junior, averaged 19.1 points and 5.1 rebounds while boosting his 3-point shot to nearly 39%. He's hungry to be more of a playmaker at his next stop after playing off the ball in Madison. And Santa Clara's Allen Blackwell is the wild card. A 6-foot-9 freshman who came in unranked, he's become a metrics darling and jumped onto NBA draft boards. Against Kentucky in the NCAA tournament, he showed he could carry a team offensively. He averaged 11.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, and shot 41.3% from deep.

The portal window closes April 21. Expect the transfer market to stay absolutely wild until then.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.