First assessments of college basketball's top portal hauls: Grades for Kentucky, St. John's and more

Rating transfer portal hauls is an objectively flawed task because players earn a grade before they pick a school, and that decision could make-or-break a newcomer's outlook. 

You can't control it, but that's the reality. It's just the cost of doing business in the portal era.

As part of the portal scouting team, we tried to grade each player objectively based on the data and film on hand, and there were some behind-the-scenes tweaks to the algorithm to reward quality more than quantity. Especially in basketball, landing one five-star transfer (graded 98-100) can be more impactful than three guys who earned a 93 grade, which is smack dab in the middle of the four-star territory.

The money is the elephant in the room, too. Now more than ever, every player has a financial slot in the budget. There will be buy-lows that work out swimmingly this season, and there will be some high-priced transfers who don't live up to the billing. Money doesn't guarantee wins, but it sure does not hurt. It's an unfair game right now with over a dozen high-major programs building rosters that cost north of $10 million and others working with scraps, but the overachievers will win in the margins and manage their bankroll best. 

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Gary Parrish

Let's dive into the early impressions from the top 10-rated 2025 portal hauls, according to 247Sports' algorithm.

No. 1 St. John's

The numbers: 1-1, No. 22 on KenPom

For all the consternation about the point guard play at St. John's, offense is not the problem. The Johnnies racked up 1.14 points per possession in Saturday's 103-96 loss to Alabama, turned it over just 12 times and used its freakshow athleticism to get to the foul line 40 times. The fit between Cincinnati transfer Dillon Mitchell and Providence transfer Bryce Hopkins next to forward Zuby Ejiofor has been debated ad nauseam, but the offensive rebounding, transition dominance and overall physicality give it a chance to be totally fine, even though those guys don't take a ton of treys.

Right now, it's far more about the point-of-attack defense. Rick Pitino took talented young offensive weapons like Joson Sanon and Ian Jackson, who aren't nearly the defensive hounds as Kadary Richmond or Deivon Smith. Pitino is betting on himself to get 'em to guard, but they weren't up to the challenge against Alabama's electric duo of Aden Holloway and Labaron Philon. St. John's point-of-attack defense is the biggest hot spot right now, but Pitino tends to get this stuff figured out. St. John's will need some time, but I think this portal group could coalesce into a March monster. St. John's size and speed will be overwhelming for a ton of teams in an elimination setting. Early grade: B-

No. 2 Michigan

The numbers: 2-0, No. 15 on KenPom

Aday Mara -- Michigan's third-highest ranked portal addition -- is an absolute monster in this scheme and maybe Michigan's alpha halfcourt hub already. The 7-3 center poured in 18 points, 13 rebounds, six assists and five blocks in Michigan's come-from-behind, overtime victory over Wake Forest. Elliot Cadeau and Morez Johnson have been totally fine so far, but the jewel of the haul, Yaxel Lendeborg, has been slowed a tad by an injury to his shooting hand. He struggled against Wake Forest, and Michigan's jumbo lineup of Lendeborg-Johnson-Mara wasn't great offensively. I need to see it play more than 30 possessions, preferably when Lendeborg is playing with some fire, to have a strong opinion on its long-term outlook.

I am pretty sure Michigan is going to be really, really, really good. The talent on this roster is evident, and all four of the transfers look like hits. Early grade: B

No. 3 Louisville

The numbers: 3-0, No. 9 on KenPom

It remains ludicrous that Isaac McKneely and Ryan Conwell are allowed to be on the same team. That duo combined to splash seven 3-pointers in Louisville's 96-88 win over rival Kentucky, but they're not just sharpshooters. Conwell's sharp cutting and extra rim pressure has helped Louisville's offense have a bit more variety. McKneely has been a sound defender who has embraced a smaller role to let five-star freshmen Mikel Brown Jr. cook. Even without a heavy on-ball role, McKneely is getting his 3s up. He's already taken more transition 3-pointers (eight) in three games at Louisville than he did all of last year at Virginia (six).

Fellow prized portal add Adrian Wooley has been OK in a sixth-man role. He's far more talented than most fourth guards, but the pecking order here is insane. The Cardinals' backcourt has been one of the best in the nation. Grade: A

No. 4 Kansas State

The numbers: 2-0, No. 56 on KenPom

The jury is still out on Kansas State, but PJ Haggerty has totaled 50 points and 14 dimes in his first two games. The dude is pretty good at this whole basketball thing, and low-major competition is no match. As presumed, Akron transfer Nate Johnson is an excellent secondary piece. He's a strong defender who makes plays for others, hits the glass and drains open shots. Abdi Bashir (9-for-17 from 3-point range but no free throws and no shots at the rim) is doing what Abdi Bashir does. 

Kansas State plays Cal on Thursday, and we'll get a bit better pulse of where the 'Cats are actually at. But this portal class should have a pretty high floor, mostly due to Haggerty's brilliance and Johnson's steadiness. Grade: A-

No. 5 Kentucky

The numbers: 2-1, No. 4 on KenPom

Getting Jaland Lowe humming will be of utmost priority because the ball just pops a bit differently for Kentucky when he's on the floor. Florida transfer Denzel Aberdeen has been instant offense for the 'Cats so far, averaging a team-high 16 points, and Alabama transfer Mo Dioubate has been serviceable. Kentucky is trotting out a lot of lineups with two bigs who aren't threats to pop a 3-pointer. Ideally, Tulane transfer Kam Williams can start to carve out a bigger role as a jumbo wing/small-ball 4, but he's been doing a ton of cardio so far.

The sell for this Kentucky team was that the extra jolt of athleticism would show up the most on the defensive end. Kentucky has guarded at a very high level for stretches, but it also made way too many scouting report errors early in the loss to Louisville, which gave the Cardinals oodles of confidence. I do think defense will be a real strength of this team, with or without talented big man Jayden Quaintance, but they have work to do on both ends. Honestly, Kentucky's most impressive newcomer has been a freshman (Malachi Moreno), not any of these well-paid transfers. Early grade: C-

No. 6 Florida

The numbers: 2-1, No. 10 on KenPom

Florida's new guards can't buy a 3-pointer right now. Boogie Fland (2-12) and Xaivian Lee (6-29) are off to chilly starts from downtown, but Florida's offense is generating excellent looks. It feels like only a matter of time until it starts clicking. 

Todd Golden has to like that his new backcourt isn't turning it over (just seven combined giveaways in the first three games for Lee and Fland), but he undoubtedly needs more from them defensively. Lead guards like Arizona's Jaden Bradley and Florida State's Rob McCray V have tormented the Gators in the first eight days of the season. That's a trend to monitor moving forward. Grade: C+

No. 7 USC

The numbers: 2-0, No. 23 on KenPom

So far, so good for the Muss Bus. USC has rolled to buy-game romps over Manhattan and Cal Poly. High-priced free agents Chad Baker-Mazara and Rodney Rice have been super productive, and USC's rim defense has been so, so much better, as predicted. Toolsy Virginia transfer Jacob Cofie is holding up his end of the bargain, and Eric Musselman's transfer-heavy roster has a bunch of different combinations he can tinker with. I still have some creation questions, but this roster's size jumps off the tape.

Ultimately, bigger tests await, but USC's early vision for this roster is starting to materialize. Grade: A

No. 8 Iowa

The numbers: 2-0, No. 42 on KenPom

Bennett Stirtz, uh, looks better. The jumper is even purer, and his burst and explosiveness has ticked up. That's a scary proposition for the Big Ten. Ben McCollum should feel pleased with the jump that Drake transfer Isaia Howard has made. Howard looks the part of a Big Ten rotation player. Although he's coming off the bench, prized Robert Morris transfer Alvaro Folgueiras' talent has also popped in this scheme.

It's a bit interesting that Kansas State transfer Brendan Hausen hasn't been a big part of this plan yet. He's operating as the ninth man through two games, but Iowa's flow and connectivity is so obvious. Grade: A-

No. 9 Auburn

The numbers: 3-0, No. 35 on KenPom

KeShawn Murphy is banged up right now, so we haven't seen this new-look Auburn club at the peak of its powers quite yet. But the Keyshawn Hall show is alive and well. The UCF transfer is a flat-out bucket, and Auburn's offense is built around him, not Tahaad Pettiford, right now. 

Overall, you have to feel pretty solid about this Auburn transfer class. Elyjah Freeman has had some eye-popping moments. Texas Tech transfer Kevin Overton is solid. Murphy is going to be an excellent connector, and Hall could lead the SEC in scoring. 

But will this mercurial group be able to coalesce into a true SEC contender, even if it doesn't have elite rim protection and has more turnover risk in the portfolio? That's a big TBD. We will learn so much on Sunday when the Tigers tangle with Houston. Grade: B

No. 10 Indiana

The numbers: 3-0, No. 17 on KenPom

Indiana has not played a monster frontcourt that could challenge its potentially leaky interior defense yet, but how could you not be impressed by this IU start? Indiana's layered offense is humming with a ton of 3s and even more nifty back-cuts. The Hoosiers have drilled double-digit 3-pointers in three straight games for the first time since 2016-17. Tucker DeVries and Lamar Wilkerson are exceptional flamethrowers, and the additions of set-the-table connectors like Tayton Conerway, Reed Bailey and Conor Enright look like sharp roster-building. This roster has some flaws that will be exposed later, but for now, basketball is fun again in Bloomington. Grade: A+