Transfer Portal Snapshot: SEC power plays as window nears close

By Chris Marler

The 2026 NCAA transfer portal opened Friday, Jan 2 and has been open for 14 days now. 

By the Numbers 

As of Thursday, over 4,000 players in college football have entered the portal. That includes 3,113 players at the FBS level. That’s 60 more names that entered on Thursday. A total of 1,705 FBS players have committed, meaning 55 percent of the players in the portal have signed or committed to a school. That’s up three percent from yesterday, as 79 players committed or signed with a school on Thursday. 

Ole Miss Punches Back 

Ole Miss is currently in their “revenge bod” phase of the breakup with Lane Kiffin and in a competitive back and forth to win the breakup via the transfer portal. 

Ole Miss has had a top five class for most of the portal window. Since Wednesday, they surged up three more spots to No. 2 behind LSU. That means the SEC currently holds the top three spots in the portal according to 247Sports. 

More Like Kentucky Wild-cash 

Arguably, no team has had as much change and newfound momentum this offseason than Kentucky. The Wildcats made a splash early on in the portal and snuck their way into the top ten. That proved to be no fluke. The Wildcats have remained inside the top 10 for nearly a week, with just one day left before the portal closes.

They currently have 26 commits and are now a potential landing spot for another high profile player in former LSU WR Nic Anderson. 

Anderson was the No. 15 ranked player in the portal a season ago and reportedly garnered a $650,000 NIL package according to On3. He’s currently ranked No. 443 in this year’s portal, a spot that wouldn’t command that kind of money on its own. Still, it’s notable that a school which openly spent $22 million on basketball is investing this aggressively in football as well.

Kentucky could easily be a team that sees an immediate turn around next season because of it. 

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 Thursday, Jan. 15, at 5:00 p.m. CT.

414 players from the SEC have entered the portal, and 296 players have committed and/or signed with SEC teams. 

SEC Players Entering the Portal

• Mississippi State – 37 
• Auburn – 36
• Arkansas – 35
• LSU – 35
• Florida – 32
• Oklahoma – 28
• Tennessee – 27
• Texas – 26
• Missouri – 25
• Kentucky – 23
• South Carolina – 22
• Alabama  – 21
• Ole Miss – 19
• Texas A&M – 17
• Vanderbilt –16
• Georgia – 15

Players Signed by SEC team 

• Arkansas – 33
• LSU – 28
• Kentucky – 26 
• Auburn – 25
• Florida – 21
• Mississippi State – 21
• Missouri – 19 
• Texas A&M – 17
• South Carolina – 17
• Ole Miss – 17
• Vanderbilt – 15
• Texas – 15
• Oklahoma – 13
• Tennessee –11
• Alabama – 10
• Georgia – 7

247Sports National Rankings 

No. 1 – LSU
No. 2 – Ole Miss
No. 3 – Texas
No. 7 – Kentucky
No. 10 – Texas A&M
No. 16 – Auburn
No. 19 – Tennessee
No. 20 – Oklahoma
No. 21 – Missouri
No. 22 – Florida
No. 23 – South Carolina
No. 24 – Arkansas
No. 31 – Georgia
No. 32 – Mississippi State
No. 34 – Alabama
No. 39 – Vanderbilt