Men's Way-Too-Early Top 25: Biggest risers, fallers after portal, draft deadlines
Florida jumps to the top while Louisville and Indiana join the mix. Here's how next season is taking shape.
The buzzer on Michigan's national championship win over UConn was just three weeks ago, but it's been a 20-day sprint since the transfer portal opened the next morning, with more than 2,700 players leaving their school to find a new one -- and only 10 of our top 100 transfers still available. The majority of power-conference programs have already completed much of their rebuilds, particularly at the top of their rosters.
While the focus has been on portal acquisitions, a common theme has emerged toward the top of our latest Way-Too-Early Top 25: Retention. Just look at the top five: Florida returns four starters and most of its rotation from an SEC championship team; Duke brings three starters back; Michigan retains two key guards; Illinois is expected to return five of its top eight scorers; and UConn will start three players with extensive experience in Storrs.
The dust hasn't quite settled yet, but with the portal closing last Tuesday and the NBA early-entry deadline last Friday, it's time to update our forecast for the 2026-27 men's college basketball season.
(Note: We've projected players ranked in the top 25 of Jeremy Woo's most recent NBA draft rankings to remain in it, and anyone after that to return to college.)
The Gators vaulted to No. 1 following the return of Thomas Haugh and Alex Condon , both of whom passed on the NBA draft to play in Gainesville for another year. And while Rueben Chinyelu has entered the NBA draft process, he is ultimately expected to return. That means Florida is likely to bring back the same frontcourt that won a national championship two seasons ago and is coming off an SEC title.
Kentucky transfer Denzel Aberdeen has committed to the Gators, too, but will need a waiver to play another season. If that happens, there's not much of an argument for any other team to top these rankings.