A pair of SEC teams were among the first to make big splashes in college basketball’s transfer market this week as Alabama and Missouri landed commitments Tuesday from two of the bigger names to hit the portal early in this cycle. The Crimson Tide landed a pledge from former Pepperdine shooting guard Houston Mallette, while former UT Martin wing Jacob Crews committed to the Tigers.
Both players are featured in the 2024 CBS Sports transfer rankings, which highlight the top players on the move in college basketball. Crews is an elite 3-point shooter with good size who should immediately help a Mizzou team that struggled to an 0-18 mark in SEC play while shooting just 31.9% from 3-point range.
Mallette is part of a wave of talent exiting from Pepperdine following the firing of coach Lorenzo Romar. Alabama is a No. 4 seed for the NCAA Tournament, but the Crimson Tide staff is obviously taking a proactive approach with roster management even while navigating the postseason.
The spring portal window opened on March 18 and will remain open until May 1. However, players who have entered the portal by then don’t face a firm deadline on when they must commit. Additionally, graduate transfers and players impacted by coaching changes that occur after May 1 will be able to transfer after the deadline.
As players enter the portal, we will rank the best of them here. The rankings will be updated regularly as players either enter the portal or announce their intentions to enter the portal.
Check out the latest transfer portal updates from 247Sports
1. Jevon Porter
Old school: Pepperdine
Porter ranked as a top-100 prospect in the Class of 2022 and earned honorable mention All-WCC honors this season while averaging 16.2 points, 5.9 rebounds and one block per game. The 6-foot-11 younger brother of Denver Nuggets star Michael Porter Jr. is a career 32.5% 3-point shooter and could get high-major interest because of his size, pedigree and flashes of perimeter shooting.
2. Darlinstone Dubar
Old school: Hofstra
Dubar is a 6-foot-6 wing who averaged 17.8 points and 6.8 rebounds on 39.9% 3-point shooting for a 20-win Hofstra team. He began his career at Iowa State, starting seven games for the Cyclones in 2020-21. As a fifth-year player with a proven shot and size, he’ll have opportunities to return to a major conference. Alabama guard Aaron Estrada is an example of a quality high-major player to come through Hofstra.
3. Maxime Raynaud
Old school: Stanford
Raynaud was named the Pac-12’s most improved player after nearly doubling his scoring average to 15.5 points per game as a junior. The seven-footer collected 9.6 rebounds per game and hit 36.1% of his 3-pointers on 61 attempts. The drawback is how limited he is defensively for a player of his size (0.8 blocks per game in 29.1 minutes).
4. Tyrin Lawrence
Old school: Vanderbilt
Lawrence is a 6-foot-4 guard with 105 career appearances for an SEC program under his belt. Though just a career 28.7% 3-point shooter, he’s a good defender and averaged better than 13 points per game the past two seasons. He is the type of seasoned veteran with a track record of production who could provide reliable minutes for a good high-major program.
5. Brandon Garrison
Old school: Oklahoma State
Garrison showed glimpses of why he was a top-50 prospect and McDonald’s All-American in the Class of 2023 during his freshman season at Oklahoma State. There are offensive strides to be made, but Garrison blocked 1.5 shots per game in just 22.7 minutes and has three seasons of eligibility remaining to continue realizing his potential.
6. Jacob Crews
Old school: UT Martin | New school: Missouri
Crews shot 41.4% from 3-point range on 6.7 attempts per game as a junior for a UT Martin team that won a share of the OVC regular-season title. He also yanked down 8.2 rebounds per game for the Skyhawks. There are questions about his defense, but at 6-7 and with a good shooting stroke, he will garner significant interest.
7. Dug McDaniel
Old school: Michigan
McDaniel averaged 16.3 points and 4.7 assists while shooting 36.8% from 3-point range on 5.8 attempts for a bad Michigan team. The 5-11 guard also rated as the Wolverines’ top defender, per evanmiya.com. Although his offensive numbers dipped against Big Ten foes, the former four-star prospect will help a team needing to upgrade its guard play.
8. Kanaan Carlyle
Old school: Stanford
Carlyle averaged 11.5 points and 2.7 assists per game in his freshman season at Stanford after ranking as a four-star prospect in the Class of 2023. His best games came against Arizona and Washington State, which were both NCAA Tournament teams. With three seasons of eligibility remaining and a proven body of work at the high-major level, there is some upside here.
9. Malik Dia
Old school: Belmont
Dia shined as a dynamic frontcourt player in his sophomore season at Belmont after playing sparingly during his freshman season at Vanderbilt. He averaged 16.9 points and 5.8 boards for the Bruins while shooting 34.1% from 3-point range. He’s 6-9 and has surprising athleticism for a player with such a big frame. His game needs refining, but Dia’s upside is clear.
10. Ja’Kobi Gillespie
Old school: Belmont
Belmont was at its best with Gillespie on the floor; he averaged 17.2 points, 4.2 assists and 2.2 steals for the Bruins. The 6-foot guard is on the smaller side but shot a ridiculous 66% inside the arc and a solid 38.7% beyond it. With two seasons of eligibility remaining, he’s worth a shot for a high-major team in need of an on-ball guard.
11. Houston Mallette
Old school: Pepperdine
Mallette is a career 37.5% 3-point shooter on 512 attempts over three seasons at Pepperdine. The 6-foot-5 guard upped his mark to a career-best 41.5% in 2023-24 and had big games against quality foes like Indiana State and UNLV. His combination of size and proven track record of perimeter shooting will be attractive.
12. Bensley Joseph
Old school: Miami
Joseph played a key role on Miami’s Final Four team in 2023 and upped his contributions to 9.6 points and 3.4 assists per game as a starter in 2023-24. The 6-foot-1 guard is a career 37.9% 3-point shooter and has one season left to play.
13. Amari Williams
Old school: Drexel
Williams earned CAA Defensive Player of the Year for a third straight season while averaging 1.8 blocks per game. The 6-foot-10 rim protector rated among the top-100 defenders in all of college basketball following the conclusion of conference tournament play, per evanmiya.com. He also scored 12.2 points and grabbed 7.8 rebounds for a 20-win Dragons team.
14. Michael Ajayi
Old school: Pepperdine
Ajayi is 6-foot-7 and hit 47% of his 3-pointers on 2.5 attempts per game while averaging 17.2 points in his lone season at Pepperdine. While Ajayi was a rebounding force for the Waves with 9.9 per game, his defense is a question mark. But there is enough here to pique the interest of high-major programs.
15. Frankie Fidler
Old school: Omaha
Fidler finished second in the Summit League in scoring at 20.1 points per game. The 6-foot-7 forward hit 35.6% of his 3-point attempts in 2023-24 and was effective against Big 12 foes TCU and Texas Tech. Max Abmas (Oral Roberts to Texas) and Grant Nelson (North Dakota State to Alabama) are recent examples of players from this league transferring up and playing big roles for good teams.
16. Andrej Stojakovic
Old school: Stanford
Stojakovic averaged 7.8 points and 3.4 rebounds in 22.3 minutes per game as a freshman at Stanford after ranking as a top-25 prospect in the Class of 2023, per 247Sports. He hit just 32.7% of his 3-pointers and was not an impact defender. But with three seasons left to play, he’ll have time to realize the potential that made him a McDonald’s All-American.
17. Clark Slajchert
Old school: Penn
Slajchert shot 42.2% from 3-point range on 6.1 attempts per game in 2023-24 while averaging 18 points per game. At 6-foot-1, adapting to the defensive demands of the high-major level could be a challenge. But his offensive game will be attractive to high-major programs in need of perimeter firepower.
18. Sincere Parker
Old school: Saint Louis
Parker is the definition of instant offense. The 6-3 guard averaged 15.9 points per game in just 20.7 minutes per contest off the bench for Saint Louis while shooting 42.6% from 3-point range. He went for 30 or more three games in a row during one February stretch of A-10 play. That should make him interesting to high-major programs.
19. Mikeal Brown-Jones
Old school: UNC Greensboro
After two years of major minutes at UNC Greensboro, Brown-Jones has proven himself worthy of a high-major opportunity. He’s 6-foot-8 and hit 43.1% of his 3-pointers in 2023-24 for a 21-win team. In a past life, Brown-Jones was on the outskirts of the rotation for a VCU team that reached the second round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament.
20. Jacob Meyer
Old school: Coastal Carolina
Meyer was a bright spot for an otherwise bad Coastal Carolina team as a freshman, averaging 15.7 points on 40.2% 3-point shooting. The 6-foot-2 guard was an unheralded high school prospect but could get some high-major looks after a solid season in the Sun Belt.