Portal Closes: Winners

The men’s college basketball transfer portal shut Tuesday at 11:59 p.m., freezing the spring entry list and shifting the focus to which rebuilt rosters look strongest. (ncaa.org, cbssports.com) The National Collegiate Athletic Association changed the men’s basketball window in January to a 15-day period starting the day after the national championship game, which put this year’s window at April 7 through April 21. Players already in the portal can still choose schools after the deadline, but new entries are now barred unless a coaching-change exception applies. (ncaa.org, on3.com) CBS Sports labeled Duke and Florida the biggest winners of the cycle, while On3 said Indiana finished the window with the No. 1 transfer class in its rankings. CBS said the portal “closed up shop” Tuesday night after a final rush of late paperwork. (cbssports.com, on3.com) Indiana’s class is built around six transfers, with On3 highlighting Alabama forward Aiden Sherrell as its top addition and listing Notre Dame guard Markus Burton and Southern Methodist center Samet Yiğitoğlu among the headliners. Inside the Hall reported Wednesday that Indiana had 10 players locked into its 2026-27 roster after the window closed. (on3.com, insidethehall.com) That matters for Indiana because Darian DeVries is rebuilding quickly in Bloomington after an 18-14 season, and multiple outlets now place the Hoosiers near the top of the national portal rankings. On3 has Indiana first, while Inside the Hall said 247Sports also had the class near the top nationally. (insidethehall.com, on3.com) Duke’s case is different: Jon Scheyer is replacing outgoing pieces again, and CBS placed the Blue Devils at the front of its winners list as the roster rounds into shape. The Duke Chronicle’s tracker shows Duke also lost sophomore Darren Harris to Indiana during the window, underscoring how quickly talent moved both in and out. (cbssports.com, dukechronicle.com) Florida entered the post-deadline conversation for a different reason: retention and backcourt reloading. CBS included the Gators among the top winners, and Florida had already added Princeton guard Xaivian Lee before star forward Alex Condon announced he would return for his senior season on April 15. (cbssports.com, floridagators.com, usatoday.com) The deadline still produced late churn. Florida State forward Thomas Bassong entered the portal less than two weeks after publicly indicating he would return to the Seminoles, according to 247Sports. (247sports.com) Michigan State guard Divine Ugochukwu also hit the portal in the final hours. On3 reported Wednesday that Ugochukwu, a one-year Spartan who previously played at Miami, appeared in 22 games and averaged 5.1 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists while shooting 50.6% from the floor. (on3.com, usatoday.com) The portal is closed, but the offseason is not. Coaches can still sign players already in the database, and the programs that moved fastest before April 21 — especially Duke, Florida and Indiana — now have the clearest outlines of their 2026-27 rosters. (on3.com, cbssports.com)