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.
If you haven’t yet read part two of the series you can do so here.
Here is part three:
Texas
Let’s start this part of the series with Texas. And no, this isn’t a typo–remember that this year Texas is joining the SEC alongside Oklahoma. Yes, this will take some getting used to!
Indiana State became somewhat of a college basketball cult favorite last year with everyone tuning in to see what was one of the prettiest offenses in the country. Playing a role in that offensive brilliance was guard Julian Larry who will now join the Longhorns. Larry averaged 11.0 points and 4.8 assists per game, but the scoring numbers don’t seem to tell the whole story given how well the Sycamores moved the ball and how a lot of players contributed points. Larry is an excellent passer, and someone who will look to move the ball and get his teammates involved at Texas.
A lot of people were fans of Indiana State last year but perhaps no one more so than Texas’ coaching staff and they didn’t go and get just Julian Larry, but also grabbed wing Jayson Kent from the Sycamores. Kent, a 6’7” wing, averaged 13.5 points and 8.1 rebounds last year and was a particularly good cutter in the Indiana State system. Look for him to be active away from the ball slipping away from defenses to find easy looks.
Texas’ big pickup was Tramon Mark who had an excellent career at Houston before playing last year at Arkansas where he scored 16.2 points per game. Mark’s strength and speed is perfect for the SEC game and Texas did well to pick him up to help their transition to the league, and you can pencil in Mark for another big season now in his fifth year of college basketball.
Another notable name brought in by Texas is Oregon State guard Jordan Pope who the Gators had interest in. Oregon State had a disastrous season last year but Pope was a bright spot averaging 17.6 points per game. Some people think these numbers were empty calories for someone on a losing team, but Pope has a clear ability to get to the rim and finish and it should play well with the Texas system.
Staying in the SEC will be Malik Presley who started his career at Vanderbilt, but didn’t play much as a freshman. Texas will be hoping they can bring out the player they saw when they once recruited the 6’6”, 200 pound forward.
Vanderbilt
Lock in, because we’ve got a long one.
When Vanderbilt hired James Madison coach Mark Byington they knew it was going to be a cleaning house situation, and Vanderbilt now brings in the biggest transfer portal class in the league–a remarkable 10 players. Let’s get into it.
AJ Hoggard is a point guard the Gators have been interested in on a number of occasions, starting with Mike White recruiting him heavily in high school and finishing with Todd Golden recruiting him in the portal. Hoggard eventually wore out his welcome at Michigan State, but he’s someone who is physical, can play fast, and has tremendous vision. His shooting and scoring is a question mark, but he’s physically ready for the SEC and will create points in transition and with his passing.
A veteran in the purest sense, guard Alex Hemenway comes to the Commodores after five seasons with Clemson. He’s never been someone who has played a huge role, but he’s been around the block a few times and will be safe production off the bench in the backcourt.
Coming from Boston College, 6’7” Devin McGlockton has produced a bit with 10.2 points and 6.3 rebounds per game, but is someone who is looked at by Vanderbilt’s coaching staff as someone with another gear to get to. Look for him to be a possible breakout candidate.
Adding to the forward depth is Tyler Nickel who averaged 8.8 points per game at Virginia Tech. The 6’8” forward doesn’t do a lot other than shoot threes, but he plays that role well shooting 40% from deep and is someone who will provide floor spacing.
A second Virginia Tech player coming to Vanderbilt is MJ Collins, a 6’4” guard who averaged 7.4 points per game last season. Collins has always struggled to shoot from range but brings energy on the defensive end and is someone who can play with pace in transition.
Brought in to be a spark, Jason Edwards is someone who will make his presence felt on the floor after averaging 19.1 points per game at North Texas. Edwards is a ball of energy that is constantly in attack mode when he gets the ball on the offensive end, and he’ll be someone who makes things happen for the Commodores whether he starts or comes off the bench. He’s small at just 6’1” and 170 pounds, but he’s a proven scorer who can also guard the ball on the defensive end.
The lone player to follow Byington from James Madison to Vanderbilt is 6’8”, 245 pound forward Jaylen Carey. Carey had good size for the Sun Belt level but won’t stick out quite as much in the SEC, though Byington loves his feel and the personality he brings to the roster. He also just played his freshman season with the Dukes, so he has a lot of game to grow into. Look for this to be a longer term piece that could start playing a key role in 2025.
Adding to the depth in the backcourt is Davidson transfer Grant Huffman who averaged 12.8 points and 5.8 assists last season. A floor general at 6’3”, Huffman loves getting his teammates into the right spots on the floor before calling out actions and finding the first pass of the possession with precision. The issue with Huffman has always been the lack of a jumper which may keep him off the floor at the end of games, but his court vision and leadership will be huge for the Commodores.
An upside play for Vanderbilt is Kijani Wright, a 6’9”, 235 pound center who was a big name as a high school player but couldn’t get on the floor at USC.
Lastly, the Commodores brought in Cornell guard Chris Manon who had a nice junior season averaging 12.5 points and 3.0 assists per game. Manon is a methodical guard who likes to slow things down and work in the halfcourt, and will be a nice counter to AJ Hoggard who loves to get up and down.
Georgia
Looking for impactful players from really good mid-major teams is a decent way to go about assessing the portal and Georgia did just that with the addition of Justin Abson from a very good Appalachian State team. A 6’9”, 235 pound forward with an SEC body, Abson Averaged 7.9 points and 7.1 rebounds as a sophomore, and Georgia will hope he can make a significant leap on the offensive end while still bringing defensive rebounding and toughness.
Since going to Florida Mike White has leaned more into a defensive identity and one of the players he identified that he thinks can guard at this level is RJ Godfrey from Clemson. The 6’7” Suwanee, Georgia native wasn’t particularly impactful on the offensive end but was a quality defensive player and he’ll slide into a similar role with the Bulldogs.
Georgia might be focusing on a defensive identity but they still need players who can score and they filled that need with Vanderbilt guard Tyrin Lawrence. Lawrence has been one of the most fun players to watch in the SEC in recent years and he scored a neat 13.8 points per game last season with the Commodores that should transfer seamlessly over to the Bulldogs. Lawrence’s issue is that he struggles to shoot the long ball, but even with that limitation he’s been able to regularly get to the rim to score.
The Bulldog’s low-major gunner pickup was Mount St. Mary’s guard Dakota Leffew who averaged 17.6 points and 3.9 assists last year as a senior. Leffew has good length at 6’5” and shot the ball well at 37% from three on good volume, but it’s always going to be a question of how a player can translate from a low-major league to the SEC.
An upside play from the Bulldogs was to get another Mount St. Mary’s player in De’Shayne Montgomery, a 6’4” guard who just scored 13.2 points while shooting 41% from three at Mount St. Mary’s as a freshman. Now, Mount St. Mary’s was not a very good team who played in a fairly poor league, but Montgomery was effective right away and this is a situation where if he stayed one more year and ended up scoring closer to 20 points per game he becomes much more difficult to get, so Georgia is banking on getting him a year early. This is a player that’s tough to project in the SEC, so he will be fascinating to watch.