Nearly 80 of the top-100 players in the 2026 transfer portal have flown off the board, but there are still numerous teams with massive holes on the depth chart. That's a scary proposition at this point in the cycle, especially with the transfer portal closing at 11:59 p.m. ET Tuesday.
The phones are buzzing and every rock is being turned over in college basketball's version of free agency.
Michigan: A wing to complement Elliot Cadeau and Trey McKenney and a big man to shore up the depth if Morez Johnson and/or Aday Mara go pro.
Michigan State: A quality center so Jeremy Fears Jr., Coen Carr, Jordan Scott, Kur Teng and a dazzling recruiting class can be an elite Big Ten contender.
Kansas: A high-level center, in addition to winning the sweepstakes for No. 1 recruit Tyran Stokes.
Texas Tech: Multiple max-contract guys — one in the frontcourt and one in the backcourt — to round out a roster that has numerous questions beyond coveted Hofstra transfer point guard Cruz Davis and prized freshman guard DaKari Spear.
Kentucky: A real-deal off-ball sniper with size to make up for whiffing on top 4-man targets, Sebastian Rancik and Donnie Freeman.
LSU: Best player available. Kentucky transfer forward Mo Dioubate is the lone player on Will Wade's roster at the moment.
Arkansas: Center so that Furman transfer Cooper Bowser can be a role player, not a featured starter.
St. John's: A big man with some physicality to add a different dimension to the Donnie Freeman-Ruben Prey combination.
Louisville: A 4-man who can serve as a connector, ball-mover and floor-spacer.
Virginia: Secondary guard to complement Chance Mallory and Sam Lewis.
Duke: A go-to guard who can be a bucket-getter and provide 3-point volume complement Cayden Boozer, Patrick Ngongba and Drew Scharnowski.
So, who are the top names on the board? Let's dive into the top available free agents at each position.
1. Tylen Riley, Tulsa: Riley engineered Tulsa to a NIT Championship game appearance and is one of the most coveted mid-major stars in the portal. Riley uses shake, a tight handle and terrific footwork to generate a ton of paint touches. Oklahoma and Cincinnati are in the thick of it here.
2. Pop Isaacs, Texas A&M: Isaacs shot 40% from downtown on 154 attempts last year. The well-traveled veteran has never been able to shake the turnover bug, but he's got a strap.
3. Malik Mack, Georgetown: Mack is clearly a high-major point guard option, but nothing comes super easy in his game yet. The hope is that another situation with more shooting could unlock new levers of Mack's game after two so-so seasons at Georgetown.
1. John Blackwell, Wisconsin: Blackwell is one of the best free agents on the board. Blackwell is a net-shredder (39% on 247 attempts), who can put it on the deck for get-off-me drives. He's a plug-and-play 15 points per game scorer, who can do all the dirty work, too. Duke is in the driver's seat.
2. Matt Able, NC State: Able is going to be a really, really good player very soon. The former top-30 recruit has terrific positional size (6-foot-6 and 205 pounds) and a polished offensive game. A full offseason in the weight room could do wonders. With the right situation, Able has breakout written all over him in 2026-27. UNC is firmly involved with both Brown and Able as Michael Malone looks to build out his backcourt.
3. Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn, UNLV: Gibbs-Lawhorn is a little undersized, but that didn't matter at all last year. He led the Mountain West in scoring and was efficient doing so (41% on 3-pointers, 57% on 2-pointers). He's a pure bucket who showed answers to the test at every single level of the floor.