The month of April is centered on two events in the college basketball calendar: crowning a champion and overhauling a program.
UConn coach Dan Hurley joked he wanted to play for a national title only because it meant he could put off the transfer portal for a little while longer.
Fortunately for Hurley, or unfortunately, he will have the portal waiting for him when the parade is done. The portal remains open until May 1. And it is inching toward 2,000 players waiting.
In Utah, the transfer portal has mostly hit the mid-majors the hardest. Utah and BYU remain relatively stable.
Utah State, in the wake of Danny Sprinkle’s departure, is still waiting to see what the top of its roster will do.
Here is a look at where each program sits.
Utah State
The Aggies were the top of mind this year when the transfer portal opened. With Sprinkle gone to Washington, and Jerrod Calhoun at the helm, the new coach made it clear he wants the majority of the roster to stay intact.
He even promised a national title if the players stayed together.
So far, though, there have been three major players to depart. Mountain West player of the year Great Osobor entered the portal. So, too, did shooting guard Ian Martinez. A name that also shouldn’t go unnoticed is Kalifa Sakho going into the portal. He wasn’t a centerpiece but could give USU some valuable minutes.
On the periphery, USU also saw some lower impact players like Dallin Grant, Landon Brenchley and Javon Jackson explore the portal.
But for as many players who are in the portal, two significant players decided to stay. Utah products Isaac Johnson and Mason Falslev will come back to USU. Falslev entered the portal and returned.
That is a good sign for the Aggies. Keeping homegrown talent in Logan was important to Utah State’s NIL collective. The departure of Osobor, Martinez and even Sakho was expected.
Of course, USU could still have players like Osobor return. But it does feel unlikely, especially as Sprinkle builds his roster at Washington. Osobor followed Sprinkle from Montana State to USU. He could do the same at Washington.
Utah
The big news out of Utah was trusted point guard Rollie Worster looking for another program. He spent much of the Pac-12 season hurt and the Montana native is finally separating from head coach Craig Smith.
Worster followed Smith from Utah State three years ago. He has logged heavy minutes for him ever since.
But the Worster news was somewhat expected. While he was out, Smith found a point guard in Deivon Smith. He led the Utes to the NIT semifinals and looks to be Utah’s future, if he stays.
Other than Worster, the core stayed away from the transfer portal’s pull.
Utah went out and recruited Rice forward Keanu Dawes. He was one of the best players in Houston in high school and had a productive freshman year staying close to home.
He averaged over six points per game and four rebounds. He was recruited by Utah and BYU and has local ties.
BYU
For the second straight season, BYU will ride with its core group of players. Last year, it was a gamble. This year, after a 23-win season, it’s the easy choice to run it back.
Still, the Cougars did lose former four-star recruit Marcus Adams Jr. to the transfer portal. He will likely go to his fourth school in under a year if he doesn’t come back to Provo.
Tanner Hayhurst, a walk-on, also left for the portal. Neither Adams Jr. nor Hayhurst played a significant role this season.
BYU could still add some pieces to its roster. And one major domino to fall will be Jaxson Robinson’s decision to stay or leave for the NBA draft (although his staying appears less plausible, according to people around the program).
Other programs
Some Utah schools in the WAC were hit hard by the portal.
Utah Tech saw seven players hit the portal. Southern Utah had three, including one of its better players Parsa Fallah. Utah Valley also had three.
