It’s been quite a whirlwind week in college basketball, and if you’re following the off-season action, you know the drama hasn’t slowed down just because we’re not on the court. The biggest buzz right now is the transfer portal, which just wrapped up an absolutely record-setting cycle. Over 2,500 players entered during this 30-day window, and now most of the top prospects have landed with new schools. Rosters across the nation are taking their final shape as programs lock in key additions and try to piece together a winning lineup for the 2025-26 season.
Take the headline-grabbing small forwards—out of the 31 ranked in the top 150, only three are still available as of mid-May, and a big reason for that is the NBA Combine. Some of those guys are waiting to make a final call: chase the big league dream or cash in on a major college opportunity. That decision’s become even more complex with name, image, and likeness money changing the whole landscape. College stars, especially those projected as second-round NBA picks, are weighing whether to take a two-way NBA deal or stick in college, where the earning potential can actually be higher these days.
One name everyone’s watching is Yaxel Lendeborg from UAB. He’s the top-ranked player in the transfer portal and has declared for the NBA draft, but if he decides to run it back in college, he’ll be suiting up for the Michigan Wolverines. Lendeborg is unique in that he’s the only one among the top seven still potentially headed back to college with a commitment already in hand. For coaches and fans, this waiting game is agonizing—every stay-or-go decision sends ripples through the rest of the recruiting landscape.
Meanwhile, powerhouse programs like Auburn, Kentucky, and Michigan have emerged as big winners in this transfer portal cycle, hauling in some of the country’s best talent and setting themselves up for deep postseason runs. And on the horizon, the NCAA is considering some pretty major changes for the next season—there’s serious talk about switching men’s basketball to a four-quarter format instead of halves. If that passes, it will reshape how coaches manage possessions, rotations, and late-game strategies.
So, with the portal closed but the decisions still looming, and with potential rule changes on the way, college basketball is in a rare moment of suspense. One thing’s for sure—even in May, the sport never takes a break. Fans, coaches, and players are all on edge, waiting to see who suits up where, and what the next evolution of the game will look like.