ESPN ranks best college basketball transfers. One new Kansas player made the cut
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Tre White ranked No. 73 on ESPN's Top 100 transfers, joins Kansas for 2025-26.
- Former KU players Grant-Foster, Storr and Griffen also appear in the Top 100.
- Kansas State lands ESPN’s top-ranked transfer, guard PJ Haggerty from Memphis.
One of Kansas’ three additions through the NCAA’s transfer portal has been included on ESPN’s list of the top 100 players to change colleges for the upcoming 2025-26 college basketball season.
Tre White, a 6-foot-7, 210-pound senior guard/small forward who played at USC in 2022-23, Louisville in 2023-24 and Illinois in 2024-25, was accorded a No. 73 national ranking according to analyst Jeff Borzello.
“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 earlier this week.
“White has now been a starter and consistent producer at three different schools: USC, Louisville and Illinois. Over the course of three years, he has averaged 10.5 points and 5.5 rebounds, while making just about 30% of his 3-point attempts.”
White last season averaged 10.5 points and 5.5 rebounds while playing 32 games (31 starts) for the Illini. He hit 114 of 225 shots for 50.7%. He was 23-of-70 from 3 for 32.9% and 84-of-102 from the free throw line for 82.4%. White logged 23.3 minutes per contest.
KU portal additions Melvin Council Jr. of St. Bonaventure and Jayden Dawson of Loyola-Chicago were not included in ESPN’s top-100 list.
Some former KU players were included in the top 100.
• Tyon Grant-Foster, a 6-7 senior forward who played at KU in 2020-21, checked in at No. 62 in the rankings. He’s left Grand Canyon for Gonzaga.
“Provided he is granted another year of eligibility, he could end up being the player (Gonzaga coach) Mark Few has needed on the wing,” Borzello wrote of the former Schlagle High standout. “Grant-Foster is one of the most talented scorers in the country, particularly if he’s fully healthy and returns to his 2023-24 form. Alongside Graham Ike and Braden Huff, he gives the Zags one of the nation’s best frontcourts.
“Grant-Foster did have injury issues, but his scoring saw a dramatic drop from the 20.1 points he averaged in 2023-24 to a 14.8 mark this past season, shooting just 23.2% from 3-point range. He still scored 23 points against Maryland in the NCAA Tournament.”
• AJ Storr, a 6-7 senior forward, who has departed KU for Mississippi, is ranked No. 63 by ESPN. He’s also played at St. John’s and Wisconsin.
“Storr’s signing could age as a good value opportunity for Ole Miss. He’s the most proven scorer on the roster and should have plenty of chances to gain some confidence early in the season. With that said, Chris Beard and his staff are likely not done in the portal yet,” Borzello wrote.
“Even after a bad season in Lawrence, it’s hard to drop Storr from a top-5 transfer to outside of the top 100. Can he regain his offensive production at Wisconsin — or at least his shooting form at St. John’s? He averaged 6.1 points after going for 16.8 in 2023-24 at Wisconsin.”
• Rylan Griffen, a 6-6 senior guard, who has left KU for Texas A&M, is ranked No. 91 nationally by ESPN.
“Griffen had a disappointing campaign at Kansas, but we saw him produce for Alabama in the SEC two seasons ago, and (new A&M coach) Bucky McMillan’s system could generate plenty of offense,” Borzello wrote. “With the late arrival of Pop Isaacs and the breakout potential of Mackenzie Mgbako, just how many shots will be up for grabs in College Station remains a question, but a bounce-back season should be in store for Griffen.
“Griffen averaged 11.2 points during his sophomore season at Alabama, making more than 39% of his 3-point attempts, but struggled in all facets of the game at Kansas this past season. He averaged 5.9 points and shot just 30.1% from behind the arc.”
PJ Haggerty, a 6-3 junior guard, who is transferring from Memphis to Kansas State, is ESPN’s No. 1-ranked transfer.
“Haggerty withdrew from the NBA draft, and after a handful of schools seemed to enter and exit his recruitment, he joined Jerome Tang’s roster in Manhattan, Kansas. From the perspective of continuing to produce at an incredibly high level, Kansas State is a great spot for Haggerty. He will have every opportunity to put up huge numbers and lead the Wildcats,” Borzello wrote.
“A massive boost to the portal late in the window, Haggerty was one of the best guards in the country in 2024-25. He was named AAC Player of the Year and a second-team All-American after averaging 21.7 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists this past season.”
Also, Abdi Bashir, a 6-7 junior who is transferring from Monmouth to K-State is ranked No. 77 nationally. Nate Johnson, a 6-3 junior guard moving to KSU from Akron, is ranked No. 88. Sebastian Mack, a 6-3 junior guard headed to Missouri from UCLA, is ranked No. 94.
KU coach Bill Self recently commented on how recruiting has been going.
“We know what we need, and we’re still actively recruiting a couple of kids, which (there) are still some opportunities available for us to do so, primarily internationally,” Self said. “I just feel like with the international kids, it’s been a little bit slower in developing, because I think there’s still some options that they have to decide on, and they’re given more time to decide what they want to do, more so than what the American kids are.
“I still think there’s an opportunity to recruit a big and then to give us more depth, and then a guard if he can really shoot.”
