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 three, you can do so here.
Here is part four.:
Mississippi State
The most familiar name on Mississippi State’s roster will be…Riley Kugel, who left the Gators after two seasons to land at Mississippi State. Kugel was initially committed to Mississippi State out of high school before the Bulldogs made a coaching change that led him to follow assistant coach Korey McCray to the Gators. As Florida fans will know, Kugel has athletic talent and the ability to get hot from three, and the Bulldogs will try to make those outputs a bit more consistent.
Kugel wasn’t the only SEC player the Bulldogs brought in as they also landed RJ Melendez from Georgia. Melendez was largely a defensive piece who did see his offensive output increase after going to Georgia from Illinois, but he’s still looking for a more featured role.
Bringing some scoring punch will be Claudell Harris who scored 13.7 points per game for Boston College. Harris is a 6’3” guard who won’t stand out from a size or athleticism standpoint in the SEC, but having proven the ability to score a bit in the ACC, Mississippi State will hope for some consistent production in another high-major league.
Mississippi State has been known for some excellent centers in recent years and they’ll hope the next player to step in that role will be Michael Nwoko from Miami. Nwoko was a top high school recruit who never really found his footing at Miami, but the athletic 6’10”, 245 pound freak has all the physical tools required to be an elite SEC center and Mississippi State will hope to mold him into that position.
Lastly, the Bulldogs brought in Kanye Clary from Penn State to bring some scoring acumen. Clary scored 16.7 points last season and has proven the ability to be productive, silencing some doubters who never thought that would be the case for him in a high-major league. Why the doubts? Well, Clary is listed at just 5’11”, and if you have seen him play–that number could be generous. Even though he might be small he has a nose for the basket and showed last year what he’s capable of and Mississippi State thinks he can be a productive scorer in the SEC.
Texas A&M
Buzz Williams hasn’t been someone who has gone fully into the transfer portal model of building a team so when he takes someone, it means he loves their game. That starts with guard Zhuric Phelps who just had a successful three year run at SMU that finished with him scoring 14.8 points and adding 2.7 assists per game last season. Phelps is a tough-nosed guard who is relentless at getting to the rim and his energy level is something that will quickly endear himself to Williams and the rest of the coaching staff. SMU has been a quality program over the last few years and Phelps’ production should translate well to Texas A&M.
Adding to the frontcourt depth is Pharrell Payne, a traditional 6’9, 255 pound center who averaged 10.0 points and 6.1 rebounds per game last year for Minnesota. The Big 10 was loaded with size at the center position so Payne has been through a lot of challenging minutes over his two years with the Golden Gophers that will prepare him for what he’ll see in the SEC. On the offensive end Payne can set big screens and attract defenses with his rolls to the rim, so he’ll play a valuable role for the Aggies.
Another Big 10 player is CJ Wilcher who spent three years at Nebraska after starting his career at Xavier. The 6’5” guard has always been known as an excellent three-point shooter, something that was desperately needed for Texas A&M and a position they were hunting for in the transfer portal. Wilcher shot 39% from deep last season and given how poor the shooting was for Texas A&M he might enter the 2024-25 season as their most dangerous marksman. Look for him to play a defined role as rocket launcher from deep for the Aggies.
Auburn
Bruce Pearl is another coach that doesn’t attack the portal too aggressively, meaning the players that are brought in are guys that he loves and thinks fit the culture of his team. He’s also willing to take some players that won’t be instantly starter-caliber guys and could grow into a bigger role, such as Ja’Heim Hudson. Hudson averaged just 5.4 points per game at SMU last year, but Pearl loves his compete level and defensive energy and brought him in to hopefully become a power forward of the future. Standing at 6’7” and 235 pounds he’s a stocky forward that is built for the SEC and if he can find an offensive role to supplement his defensive abilities we could see him more than first expected.
A more proven player is Miles Kelly who has been productive the last two seasons at Georgia Tech averaging 13.9 points and 5.5 rebounds per game a year ago. Kelly is a lanky 6’4” guard who can be disruptive on the defensive end, and offensively is someone who can hunt threes in both transition and the half court. Last season was a down shooting year at just 32% from deep, but Auburn will hope that he can be much closer to the 38% he was as a sophomore.
Auburn’s big pickup of the transfer cycle was Furman guard JP Pegues, a player who the Gators had a ton of interest in before it was found out some academic issues could get in the way of his recruitment. Furman is a consistent winner at the mid-major level and Pegues played a massive role in their success last season averaging 18.4 points and 4.8 assists per game. Furman runs a complex offense that is not easy to learn or execute but Pegues was excellent in that setting and performed as both a primary option when needed or as a facilitator. Pegues’ issue will be the fact that he’s just 6’1” and 165 pounds, but from a skill standpoint he is someone who should be impactful in the SEC and put up points in an uptempo Auburn system.