Transfer Portal Update: By The Numbers
05/02/2025
By Chris Marler
The transfer portal closed a week ago, and while there are still a few players left looking for a new home, over 95% of the players who entered in the last two cycles have made their decision on where to play next year.
This year’s spring window wasn’t nearly as exciting and featured far less big names or even players from big programs. A majority of the players who entered the portal in the spring window were not Power 4 players. For instance, only the 81 players from SEC schools left in the spring window compared to over 300 in the December window.
Here’s a look at some of the most surprising numbers from the portal now that the full cycle is over.
Blue Chip Talent
For anyone hoping that the portal would distribute talent more evenly, sorry. According to 247Sports, there were 197 total portal players whose grade and re-ranking was a four star or higher in the portal (not as a high school recruit).
Of those 197, 195 committed to Power 4 programs. That includes 129 of the 197 going to SEC and Big Ten schools, a whopping 65.5% of the overall blue chip talent.
Buying in bulk
Of the 67 Power 4 teams that make up the ACC, SEC, B1G, and Big 12, only nine took in less than ten transfers – Ohio State, Duke, Clemson, Penn State, Iowa, Iowa State St, TCU, Tennessee, and Florida.
Only one team of those 67 lost less than ten players as well: Clemson, who lost just 7 players in both windows combined.
Regardless of conference, most every team saw at least 20 players leave their program. In fact, 49 of the 67 P4 teams did, with the SEC and ACC seeing the most with 14 schools each losing 20+ players.
Exchange Rate
A lesson a lot of programs are learning the hard way is that the exchange rate in versus out isn’t always equal. It’s usually not anywhere close. Only ten P4 teams finished the two portal windows with more players brought in than players lost.
The disparity varies, but in the SEC, there were 125 more players lost than gained to the portal across all 16 teams combined. And of the 14 teams that had a negative sum of players in versus players out, those teams lost an average of 9 more players to the portal than they signed. Here’s a look at the ten teams who managed to stay in the black this portal season.
Kansas +13
OK State +10
Virginia +8
Wake +5
Minnesota +4
West Virginia +2
Ole Miss +2
Vanderbilt Even
Northwestern Even
Michigan State Even