College Basketball’s Transfer Portal Is Running Dry: The Biggest Names Still on the Clock
The 2026 college basketball transfer portal has nearly emptied out, and the landscape for programs still looking for impact upgrades is getting sparse. Fewer than 15 of the top 300 portal players remain available as the second week of May winds down. The window to make a major late splash is closing fast.
The May 27 deadline is the other variable adding urgency to everything. That’s the date players have to withdraw from the NBA Draft to keep their college eligibility. Milan Momcilovic, Allen Graves, and Tounde Yessoufou are among the names still weighing their professional options against a return to school. None of them are considered slam-dunk first-round picks, which makes the return-to-college calculus complicated.
If Momcilovic or Graves decide to come back, the programs that land them get a massive upgrade with 10 days before the deadline. If they go pro, the remaining portal pool shrinks further. It’s a waiting game for coaches right now, and the uncertainty makes roster planning difficult.
Meleek Thomas from Arkansas and Amari Allen from Alabama are two other names in similar situations, projected either at the tail end of the first round or early in the second. Kentucky, Kansas, and LSU are all positioned to make a significant late addition if the right player becomes available. May 27 is the day the picture becomes clear. Until then, everyone is waiting on decisions that are entirely out of their control.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
