College basketball transfer portal: Top 5 teams in Big Ten to modify their rosters from a pool of 1500 athletes
Top Big Ten programs are on the hunt for players to bolster their rosters from the transfer portal. College basketball is entering another pivotal period where players who entered the transfer portal can find new programs.
There are 1,500 prospects on the lookout for new schools, and that's the pool the Big Ten teams will have to choose from.
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The top Big Ten programs on the market
Last season, the top five Big Ten programs were Purdue, who won the regular season title, followed by Indiana, Northwestern, Michigan State and Maryland.
Which players are these teams looking to bring in to ensure that they remain in the top 5 or take a step forward?
#5 Maryland
The Maryland Terrapins are losing six players, all of whom entered the transfer portal. In return; they have recruited three players, including Jordan Geronimo from Indiana, Chance Stephens from Loyola and Mady Traore from New Mexico State.
#4 Michigan State
Michigan State finished last season with a 21-13 regular season record and fourth in the Big Ten behind Northwstern.
Surprisingly, they have not made any moves to acquire players from the transfer portal. They have lost four-star recruit Pierre Brooks to Butler.
#3 Northwestern
The Northwestern Wildcats program is losing two experienced players who decided to enter the transfer portal. Wing Robbie Beran decided to conclude his year of eligibility at Virginia Tech while Julian Roper II is going to Notre Dame.
In return, they have acquired forward Blake Preston from Liberty, alongside Ryan Langborg, who helped Princeton reach their first Sweet 16 since 1967 last season.
They have also acquired guard Justin Mullins from Denver, who was looking for a program closer to home and wanted to play under coach Chris Collins.
#2 Indiana
Indiana lost two players to this year's draft. Jalen Hood-Schifino who was picked No.17 by the Lakers and Trayce Jackson-Davis who was picked No. 57 by the Golden State Warriors.
In return, they have recruited Kel'el Ware from Oregon, who's widely considered the No.2 player available in the transfer portal. They've also acquired Anthony Walker from Miami, who's on his last year of eligibility.
Finally, they signed Payton Sparks from the Ball State Cardinals, who has two years of eligibility remaining.
#1 Purdue
The Purdue Boilermakers' roster was bolstered by the news that Zach Edey will be returning for another year of college basketball. The reigning National Player of the Year will be joined by incoming transfer Lance Jones.
Jones has four years of college basketball experience as a guard for Southern Illinois. He's a decent shooter, averaging 13.0 points, shooting 32.7% from the 3-point range.
He has one year of college eligibility remaining and is likely a replacement for veteran guard Brandon Newman, who's transferring to Western Kentucky.