SEC Transfer Portal Update: Day 6

By Chris Marler

The 2026 NCAA transfer portal opened Friday, Jan 2 and has been open for six days now. 

By the Numbers 

The first weekend of the portal ended with nearly 4,000 players entering the portal. That’s nearly 1,300 more players than a year ago. It’s also roughly 31.5% of all scholarship FBS players. 

LSU Soars  

The announcement LSU was hoping for never came, but that didn’t stop Lane Kiffin from working his magic in the portal.

Sam Leavitt left Baton Rouge to take another visit to Tennessee, and he did so without striking a deal with Kiffin. That may have been because he wants to explore all his options before making a deal. It may have been because of the Demond Williams fiasco. It may have been both. Either way, LSU’s slow start sped up a lot since Monday with Lane Kiffin getting pledges from ten players and soaring up the 247Sports Transfer Portal Rankings from outside the Top 30 all the way up to No. 4 as of Wednesday evening. 

For the record, that’s three spots ahead of Ole Miss. 

Exodus by SEC Teams 

These numbers will fluctuate rapidly, but here are the total players that have entered the portal for each SEC team according to 247Sports as of Wednesday, Jan. 7, at 6:00 p.m. CT.

344 players from the SEC have entered the portal, and 130 players have committed and/or signed with SEC teams. 

SEC Players Entering the Portal

• Auburn – 33
• Florida –  31
• Arkansas – 31
• Mississippi State – 31
• LSU – 26
• Tennessee – 25
• Oklahoma – 24
• Missouri – 22
• South Carolina – 21
• Kentucky – 21 
• Alabama – 19
• Texas – 19
• Vanderbilt – 15 
• Texas A&M – 13
• Georgia – 10
• Ole Miss – 3

Players Signed by SEC Team 

• Arkansas – 16
• Florida – 13
• Texas A&M – 13
• Auburn – 12 
• LSU – 10 
• Oklahoma – 10
• Ole Miss – 8
• Kentucky – 8
• Missouri – 8 
• Mississippi State – 7
• Vanderbilt – 7
• Alabama – 5
• Texas – 5 
• South Carolina – 4
• Tennessee – 3
• Georgia – 1