With the transfer portal becoming the primary way of building a roster in the modern era of college basketball, it can be difficult to keep up with what your conference rivals are doing and what the rosters could look like entering the 2024-25 season.
In this series we will break down the transfer classes of every SEC opponent so you can see where the Gators stack up from a talent standpoint. Given the huge number of transfers entering the SEC, this will be a multi-part series, so be sure to stay locked in to Gator Country to continue to learn about the new transfers entering the SEC.
Multiple teams still have roster spots available and some transfers aren’t officially enrolled at their new school, so while this list should be nearly complete–the rosters could look slightly different by the time the season starts. However, most of the transfers added past this point won’t be particularly impactful, so the names you need to know will almost certainly be represented in this series.
Here is part one.
Arkansas
John Calipari wasn’t big on taking transfers while at Kentucky (much to the chagrin of many Wildcats fans) but after heading to Arkansas where the roster was a blank slate, he was forced to bring names through the portal.
Let’s start with a trio of players he is bringing from Lexington to Fayetteville. For starters, guard DJ Wagner. Wagner was a top recruit when he came to Kentucky and had some one-and-done buzz, but his lack of size meant a return to college. Oftentimes when a star high school recruit transfers after one season of college it means that year was a disaster, but that wasn’t the case for Wagner. Averaging 9.9 points and 3.3 assists per game Wagner was an electric guard with the ball in his hands when given the opportunity and he could be primed for a huge jump in his sophomore season.
Joining Calipari and Wagner will be Croatian big man Zvonimir Ivisic, a 7’2” center who took college basketball by storm when he entered a game midway through the season (after dealing with eligibility concerns) and immediately started knocking down threes and throwing behind the back passes. While it looked for a moment (or, well, a half) that the Wildcats might have had one of the best freshman bigs in the country, the shine did wear off rather quickly and Ivisic found himself fighting for a spot in the rotation. Ivisic might not have been a consistent performer for the Wildcats but he showed incredible flashes of skill and shotmaking, and he is another name that could be poised for a sophomore breakout.
Lastly, in terms of Wildcats-turned-Razorbacks we have Adou Thiero, a 6’7” wing. Thiero wasn’t the biggest-name player on Kentucky last season but he was a fan favorite for his dirty work on the glass and his ability to guard multiple positions–something that wasn’t always an area of strength for the team. Thiero hasn’t shown a lot of offensive punch at this point in his career but he’s a physically gifted wing that consistently brings defensive intensity and rebounding and he’ll be a huge contributor for the Razorbacks even if it doesn’t show up on the stat sheet.
It wasn’t just the Kentucky players that Calipari grabbed from the SEC and he also brings in Tennessee big man Jonas Aidoo. Aidoo was one of the top centers in the SEC last year averaging 11.4 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks per game, and given the success of the Volunteers and the quality talent they bring back this year it was somewhat of a surprise when Aidoo entered the portal. Given that Aidoo already started on an elite SEC team you know exactly what he’ll be able to bring to Arkansas, and you can bet he’ll be one of the top centers in the league once again.
Arguably the biggest name Kentucky brings in is Johnell Davis who comes to the Razorbacks after a heralded career for Florida Atlantic. Considered the engine behind FAU’s enchanted two year run, Davis is ready to try to make another Final Four, but this time with a high-major power. Last year Davis averaged 18.2 points while shooting 41% from three, and he’ll be tasked with both creating offense and being one of the top defensive stoppers on the roster.
Kentucky
Hold on to your hats, this is going to be a long one.
After the coaching change that brought in Mark Pope, the Wildcats now have nine incoming transfers that will all be expected to contribute right away.
The lone player following Pope to Kentucky is Jaxson Robinson, a player accustomed to the SEC already. Robinson started his career at Texas A&M before transferring to Arkansas, and will now return to the league after two seasons at BYU where he most recently averaged 14.2 points per game. Robinson has a bit of downhill juice with a great first step, but his real strength is shooting the three at volume. Last year he shot 35% from deep on just under seven attempts per game and Pope gives him the green light to let any looks fly. He’ll be a huge part of a Kentucky offense that will be much more wide open than what we saw from the previous coaching regime.
Bringing some defensive energy will be Lamont Butler, a name that may be familiar to you after he was a key player for the San Diego State team that made the National Championship game in 2023. A 6’2” guard, Butler isn’t a big-time scorer but has been known to hit some clutch shots which augments what he is really known for–defense. While he might not have great size he definitely has positional strength and physicality, and he will make Kentucky a difficult team to play against.
Koby Brea will come to the Wildcats after a successful career at Dayton, and he has been brought in to Lexington to do one thing–shoot. Brea was one of the best shooters in the country last year hitting an astonishing 50% of his threes on 6.1 attempts per game, nothing short of a remarkable shooting season. He isn’t an elite athlete by any means but he stands at 6’6”, and Pope will hope to make him a disruptive help defender in the passing lanes.
Helping out the interior will be Andrew Carr, a 6’9” forward coming from Wake Forest. You may remember Carr from the key role he played in handing the Gators a frustrating loss last season, posting 22 points and 6 rebounds. Carr is a skilled post player who also offers some stretch ability at 37% from deep and he’ll definitely see his three-point attempts rise playing under Pope.
A player destined to get under the skin of opposing fan bases is guard Kerr Kriisa, a point guard who started at Arizona before playing last season at West Virginia. Kriisa scored 11.7 points and added 4.7 assists per game while hitting 42% of his threes last year, and having proved his ability and two separate high-major programs already you can bet he’ll be ready for the challenge of the SEC. Kriisa is known to love trash talk and even antagonize opposing fans, so you can bet the Rowdy Reptiles will get to know Kriisa well.
Entering the mix at the wing is Otega Oweh who comes to Kentucky from Oklahoma after averaging 11.4 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. Oweh has a nice feel for the game and good physical tools leading coaches to believe that he could make a huge jump, even though he has already proven his abilities in arguably the best basketball league in the country in the Big 12. Figuring out the rotation in Lexington is a challenge given all the new faces, but Oweh is someone who could slide into a number of positions and play a number of roles which will be helpful for Pope as he figures out how he wants to play.
Pope brought in a lot of proven high-major players but he took some upside swings from the mid-major ranks as well, notably Ansley Almonor from Fairleigh Dickinson. The 6’7” wing is the exact prototype of what Pope looks for–someone with size, and the ability to shoot. Almonor hit an incredible 39% of his threes while taking massive volume with 7.4 attempts per game last season, and he’ll have the green light to let as many fly as possible when he comes to Kentucky.
Amari Williams might be a familiar name as the Gators had a lot of interest in the big-bodied 6’10” center from Drexel. Williams is a stout interior defender who can bang with the centers of the SEC, while also having the mobility and anticipation to be a shot blocker. Not just a defender, Williams also chipped in 12.2 points per game and can take advantage of switches on the inside.
Lastly, Kentucky shored up their frontcourt by bringing in 6’11” center Brandon Garrison from Oklahoma State. Garrison looks the part of an SEC center with a tremendous physique, and he used it in his freshman season at Oklahoma State to be an impactful defender. After just one year of college basketball Garrison is in position to take a leap in terms of production and he has all the physical tools to be an impactful SEC player.
Alabama
The Crimson Tide have been a program more focused on bringing in high school players than a lot of the other teams in the SEC, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t going to go get quality pieces through the portal.
To start, Alabama was able to get the commitment of Aden Holloway after a freshman season spent at Auburn. Holloway averaged 7.3 points and 2.7 assists per game and definitely went through some growing pains, particularly as it came to handling point guard duties against elite defenses. While his freshman season wasn’t all great, Holloway is still a speedy guard with all kinds of upside and should fit perfectly into Alabama’s high-octane style of play.
Chris Youngblood will join the Crimson Tide after being a consistent contributor at Kennesaw State and South Florida. In four years of college basketball Youngblood has averaged 12.4, 13.9, 14.7, and 15.3 points per game, upping his scoring every single year including the rare feat of going up a level from Kennesaw State to South Florida and still increasing his production. Given that he has been successful in every season and every level he has played at, he’ll almost certainly find a way to continue scoring from the wing at Alabama.
Clifford Omoruyi is a player the Gators recruited hard as arguably the best defensive center in the transfer portal. A 6’11” behemoth, Omoruyi played four seasons at Rutgers and was one of the top defensive bigs in a league that is loaded with talented centers that he was regularly able to shut down. Omoruyi will be able to finish some dump offs around the rim but not provide a lot of offensive upside outside of that, but his role is clear–drastically improve an Alabama defense that was porous last season.
Bringing some shooting punch is 6’5” guard Houston Mallette who comes to Alabama after playing at Pepperdine where he got some NBA buzz despite being at a smaller program. Mallette shot 42% from three last season and can sprint to the corners in transition to find shots–something that will fit perfectly for Nate Oats and Alabama.
Keep it locked to Gator Country for part two of this series upcoming.