Who’s left in NCAA basketball transfer portal? ESPN ranks one Jayhawk in top 100
All three of Kansas’ acquisitions from the 2025 NCAA men’s basketball transfer portal — Illinois’ Tre White, Loyola’s Jayden Dawson and St. Bonaventure’s Melvin Council Jr. — have been included in the Top 125 transfer rankings by both ESPN.com and 247sports.com.
Deadline for entering the portal was Tuesday. Portal rankings of ESPN.com and 247sports.com were updated Wednesday. Players who have not yet announced their transfer destinations may remain in the portal indefinitely though most will finalize plans soon so they can be settled on their new campuses prior to the start of summer school in June.
White, a 6-foot-7 senior-to-be small forward from Dallas, is the 75th rated player in the portal according to Jeff Borzello of ESPN.com. White is rated No. 80 overall by 247sports.com.
Dawson, a 6-4 senior-to-be combo guard from Omaha, Nebraska, is ranked No. 84 by 247sports.com. He’s unranked by ESPN.com.
Council, a 6-4 senior-to-be combo guard from Rochester, New York, is rated No. 125 by 247sports.com. He’s unranked by ESPN.com.
“Bill Self is building a lineup around star freshman Darryn Peterson and returning big man Flory Bidunga filled with interchangeable wings, but White’s experience at the Power 5 level will likely mean he starts for the Jayhawks to open the season,” Borzello wrote.
“White has been a starter and consistent producer at three different schools: USC, Louisville and Illinois. Over three years, he has averaged 10.5 points and 5.5 rebounds, while making just about 30% of his 3-point attempts,” Borzello added.
Of Dawson, who averaged 13.9 points and 3.1 rebounds per game in 2024-25 at Loyola Chcago, Isaac Trotter of 247sports.com wrote: “Jayden Dawson is one of the better movement shooters in this portal haul.
“Loyola ran him off a ton of handoffs, and he was extremely effective letting ‘er fly from deep in a flash. Dawson owns a sturdy 6-4 frame and should be a high-level floor-spacer both off the catch and off the bounce. Dawson doesn’t put a ton of pressure on the rim, but Bill Self should have some fun dialing up some sets for Dawson to free from downtown or open up a counter because of the attention he demands,” Trotter added of Dawson, who hit 36.3% of his 3s a year ago.
Of Council, who averaged 14.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 2.1 steals per game with the Bonnies last season, KU coach Self said: “He’s a 6-4, long, rangy guard that can play with the ball and without the ball. Melvin will remind our fans physically and athletically of Tyshawn Taylor. He’s a superior athlete who can score the ball and has the potential to be one of the more elite defenders that we’ve had in recent memory.’’
Council hit 199 of 457 shots for 43.5% in the 2024-25 season. He hit 29.9% of his 3’s and 81.9% of his free throws. He had 139 assists to 59 turnovers and scored in double figures 29 times.
KU currently has four spots available in recruiting for its 2025-26 roste. Some players who have mentioned KU have been included in ESPN.com’s Top 100 rankings.
• Darrion Williams, a 6-6 senior-to-be small forward from Texas Tech, is said to have KU, North Carolina State and Ohio State on his list of prospective colleges. However, he’s entered his name in the NBA Draft pool and according to some analysts is leaning toward staying in the June Draft.
Williams, who is from Sacramento, California, averaged 15.5 points and 5.5 rebounds a game last season. He earned first-team all-Big 12 honors.
“From what I’ve been told from the start, and I don’t think it’s changed, is he’s going to go through the draft process. The hope is, from his camp, that he’s going to be drafted and he’s not coming back to college,” wrote Jeff Goodman of The Field of 68.
Wrote Borzello: “Williams is currently projected as a second-round pick in June’s NBA draft, so he could still return to school. He was incredible in the NCAA Tournament, averaging 23.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists in his final three games.”
• R.J. Luis, a 6-7 senior-to-be from St. John’s, also has had KU on his list. Ranked the No. 1 portal player in the country by ESPN.com, Luis, a native of Miami, Florida, also is expected to remain in the 2025 NBA Draft.
“The Big East Player of the Year and a second-team All-American, Luis was one of the biggest breakout stars in college basketball this past season. He averaged 18.2 points and 7.2 rebounds, leading the Red Storm to Big East regular-season and tournament titles,” wrote ESPN’s Borzello.
• P.J. Haggerty, a 6-3 sophomore combo guard from University of Memphis, recently announced for the portal with analysts suggesting he may be asking $4 million a year in NIL money. Haggerty averaged 21.7 points for the Tigers last season, ranking third nationally in scoring. He hit 36% of his 3’s while averaging 5.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.8 steals. He was a second-team All-American.
“A lot of these bigger schools are saying there’s no way,” Field of 68 analyst Goodman said of teams being unable to come up with the NIL money. “Whether it’s St. John’s, whether it’s Baylor, whether it’s Indiana, whether it’s Kansas, whether it’s Florida − I’m told all of them are out at that asking price ($4 million).”
Borzello wrote: “A massive boost to the portal late in the window, AAC player of the year Haggerty was one of the best guards in the country in 2024-25.”
Mississippi has been mentioned as a possible landing spot for Haggerty.
• Set to visit with KU coaches via Zoom this week is Ahamad Bynum, a 6-3 senior-to-be combo guard from UTEP, who averaged 10.3 points and 1.9 rebounds per game last season. The Chicago native, who also has Pitt, Seton Hall and others on his list, was a 44.4% 3-point shooter a year ago. He is unranked on the list of top 100 portal players by ESPN.com.
• Other players who reportedly have had KU on their recruiting lists are Paul Mbiya, a 6-10 center from Congo who is playing for a team in France’s Pro A League and Luigi Suigo, a 7-3, 240-pound center from Milan, Italy, who is playing in a pro league in Italy.
Mbiya is considering KU, Oregon, Texas Tech, LSU, Syracuse and many others. Suigo, who is listed in the Class of 2026 at this time according to Rivals.com, is considering KU, Illinois, Duke, Kentucky UCLA, BYU and others.
• KU is also said to be recruiting Corbin Allen, a 6-4 senior combo guard out of Oak Park High School who was coached the past two seasons by former KU guard Sherron Collins. Allen recently decommitted from University of San Diego.
• Jaden Nickens, a 6-3 senior combo guard from Oklahoma City’s Douglass High School, also could be one of the 14 players on KU’s roster in 2025-26. He has signed a letter-of-intent with KU football and has expressed his intention to play both football as a wide receiver and basketball at KU. Nickens, a four-star football recruit and three-star recruit in hoops by 247sports.com, chose KU over Georgia, Texas A&M, Oklahoma State and California, after initially giving a verbal commitment to in-state school Oklahoma.
• Former KU guard Zeke Mayo, who has used up his four years of eligibility, recently entered the portal with a no-contact clause just in case the federal courts allow current college seniors a fifth year of eligibility. He has indicated a desire to return to KU if he does not remain in the NBA Draft and is able to gain a fifth year of college eligibility.
Former KU players with eligibility remaining who entered the portal: AJ Storr (ranked No. 65 by ESPN.com headed to Mississippi); Rylan Griffen (ranked No. 93 by ESPN.com, undecided), Rakease Passmore (unranked, undecided), David “Diggy” Coit (Maryland, unranked) and Zach Clemence (Texas A&M, unranked).
KU with its three acquisitions currently is ranked No. 18 nationally in ESPN.com’s team portal rankings.
A look at current roster
KU’s 2024-25 men’s basketball roster consists of 10 players as of Monday morning (it is believed teams will be allowed 15 players under new roster limitations; KU would have 14 players under such a scenario because it must reduce scholarship totals by one to complete a self-imposed NCAA penalty):
Returning players (4): Flory Bidunga, Elmarko Jackson, Jamari McDowell, Noah Shelby.
Incoming freshmen (3): Samis Calderon, Darryn Peterson, Bryson Tiller. A fourth if football scholarship player Jaden Nickens as originally stated plays football as well as basketball at KU.
Incoming transfers: (3): Melvin Council Jr. (St. Bonaventure), Jayden Dawson (Loyola Chicago), Tre White (Illinois).
x-It is possible a federal court judge will “grandfather” in walkons who could lose their spots because of upcoming roster limits. KU walkons with eligibility remaining: Justin Cross, Wilder Evers, Will Thengvall.
This story was originally published April 28, 2025 at 9:47 AM with the headline "Who’s left in NCAA basketball transfer portal? ESPN ranks one Jayhawk in top 100."
