The Big 12 Conference’s transfer portal is spinning for men’s and women’s basketball. The deadline to declare is next week, but the hunt for new homes will continue.
This week a few more players put their names into the portal. One is reportedly getting a lot of interest. Another chose a school but not for the reasons you think. And one program is, well basically starting from scratch.
Here are this week’s biggest winners and losers in the Big 12.
Winners: Those with ‘The Bag’
If you’re going to dive into the transfer portal, you need a budget. Per CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander, these schools have the budget.
I’m not surprised BYU and Tech are on the top of the list. We know Tech has money — and major booster Cody Campbell was just put in charge of the Texas Tech University system. BYU has a deep bench when it comes to NIL money, even if the school highlights other reasons to go to Provo.
Houston, Kansas and Kansas State were on the second tier. These days, that’ll play.
Oh, and if you’re wondering how this will all play out in the revenue-sharing era, don’t sweat it. NIL will still be around. And, as I wrote this weekend, the first time an NIL deal gets sent back for being above market value, well, let the lawsuits begin.
You wanna win, you gotta have the dough.
Speaking of …
Winners: Houston Cougars
It’s not a transfer portal move, though the Cougars pulled a nice one recently in Creighton’s Pop Isaacs (who at one time was at Texas Tech).
Sometimes winning in the portal means keeping your talent. And, if so, the Cougars are putting that purported NIL budget to good use.
If Joseph Tugler can take the offensive leap next season that forward J’Wan Roberts took this season, man, I don’t want to mess with that.
Loser: Baylor Men
You don’t expect the Baylor men’s basketball team to just blow up overnight. But, it has, and the portal is in part to blame.
I went through the 2024-25 roster just to make sure that post didn’t overlook anyone. There are five players left on the roster, but none of them really contributed last season. So, the point here is that every notable player for Baylor has either run out of eligibility or transferred out. That’s fair.
Now, the Bears have already signed six transfers, including Cincinnati forward Dan Skillings. But this is not a program where I expect to see this much turnover given how much it’s invested in player development pre-transfer portal and NIL.
But, times change, and Baylor must continue to change with it.
Winner: BYU
Former Baylor guard Robert Wright III landed at BYU. On Thursday, I came across a social media post that I thought was illogical. Wright reasoned that part of his decision to move to BYU was about getting prepared for the NBA. Well, Baylor has 15 players in the league right now while the Cougars have none (though that will change with Egor Demin).
This is why you dig in. Wright’s reference the NBA based on a specific coach and a specific player, according to the Deseret News.
“Just seeing a great coach like Kevin Young and getting a chance to play (for) someone like that, who coached a guy, CP3 (Chris Paul) who I try to model my game after in a lot of facets,” Wright said.
That makes more sense. Young worked with Paul in Phoenix. If Wright likes Paul’s game and can work with the coach that worked with him, then that’s a good fit.
Winner/Loser: Big 12 Team TBA/UCF
You never want to lose height. But UCF is losing a player it could have built around next year. And, per Matt Murschel at the Orlando Sentinel, at least one Big 12 team is in play to lure him away.
Which Big 12 team might land him? Among those with sourced reporting, it’s Cincinnati. But if he’s already fetching what Murschel is reporting, who’s to say how high the bidding might go?
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
