Transfer Portal 2026

[Jack]

Just saw this great post on X:

“My son’s roommate at a Mountain West conference school was earning 200k a year and wasn’t a starter. One player. We’re gonna need a bigger boat.”

(I’m assuming anyone growing up in MA knows where the “bigger boat” quote is from.)

First of all "Jaws".....


Second, this is the part where I fear we are approaching wash / rinse / repeat territory with UMass. It is (or it really should be) common knowledge that UMass has a rich history of running on the cheap.

Just look at FBS rollout.... they got in, but never spent the real money they needed to spend at that time. Now, 15 year later, they are claiming all in; the problem is that the money they look like they are finally committing to spend now is what they should have been spending 15 years ago.... so it is a fraction of what they need to spend TODAY to truly compete.

I am happy they are at least trying now - better late than never I guess; but when I see things like a bench player in the Mountain West making 200K - I think we all know we are still not competing in the "dollars and sense" game.

Exactly. Newsflash: Its almost completely about $$$. Folks who pretend otherwise are truly hilarious. Want to win a Natty ? Spend 15M on your roster like Michigan did. Want to compete for a Natty? Spend 10-12M. like Ucon did. That's it. Pretend otherwise at your own peril.

[MikeUMA]

(Apologies if this similar point has already been raised. I haven't been paying close attention.)

So we're a week+ into the Portal being open, and we've only seen 3 of our dudes go into the Portal. Last year on 4/15, it was 11. That's a little apples and oranges due to this season we just naturally had more guys finishing their eligibility, but still, are we surprised that more haven't declared their intentions to leave?

As a reminder, I'm tracking everything I've seen: https://umasshoops.com/wiki/doku.php?id=season_2026-27

[Juice Stand]

UMass is not and has not for the majority of their history been in the "win a natty" realm of possibility. I do not care what the blue bloods of the world are spending. That's not us, and it's irrelevant. What are we spending relative to our conference, how do we compete at the top of the conference, and how do we elevate ourselves to a better conference?

We were told by Bamford at the MAC announcement that we would have MAC-leading NIL resources, but that was two years ago. How much are Akron, Kent, and Miami spending today, how do we compare, and what is their NIL outlook for the next 5 years? We have to match that and more. I think I remember hearing that our NIL budget was $2 million with a plan to increase to $3mil a year later, I probably have those numbers wrong. Please correct me if you know what it actually is.

The problem that I'm starting to see materialize is that ticket sales for hoops and football are declining, donations are likely declining as well, and there is a real wave of anti-Bamford sentiment among small donors (regular fans) which is probably putting a dent in their fundraising goals. Where does the money come from when the programs that generate revenue are floundering, and the people that run them are generally disliked? I think their best fundraising campaign would be firing Bamford and Martin. People would LOVE that and jump back on board.

[Juice Stand]

are we surprised that more haven't declared their intentions to leave?

Yes, I'm crossing my fingers that we a) don't have any more defections and b) start seeing some announcements about incoming players or current players signing NIL deals and returning.

[eldonabe]

UMass is not and has not for the majority of their history been in the "win a natty" realm of possibility. I do not care what the blue bloods of the world are spending. That's not us, and it's irrelevant. What are we spending relative to our conference, how do we compete at the top of the conference, and how do we elevate ourselves to a better conference?

We were told by Bamford at the MAC announcement that we would have MAC-leading NIL resources, but that was two years ago. How much are Akron, Kent, and Miami spending today, how do we compare, and what is their NIL outlook for the next 5 years? We have to match that and more. I think I remember hearing that our NIL budget was $2 million with a plan to increase to $3mil a year later, I probably have those numbers wrong. Please correct me if you know what it actually is.

The problem that I'm starting to see materialize is that ticket sales for hoops and football are declining, donations are likely declining as well, and there is a real wave of anti-Bamford sentiment among small donors (regular fans) which is probably putting a dent in their fundraising goals. Where does the money come from when the programs that generate revenue are floundering, and the people that run them are generally disliked? I think their best fundraising campaign would be firing Bamford and Martin. People would LOVE that and jump back on board.

Just to provide a little context, the Mountain West Conference is the western version of the A-10 in terms of conference rankings.... you know, the A-10, the conference we were recently in and not spending enough to be competitive (except the coaching salary of course ).





As for you last observation, I believe you are 100% spot on.... This is where the Steve's of the world are missing the point. Big donors/spenders get all the big stuff - but there are only a few out there; without the small spenders you have empty stadiums, no buzz on the streets, and no culture. Imagine the momentum 10,000 more small donors (who are sitting on the donation sidelines right now) could do? Relieving Bamford (to start) would immediately get the attention of the masses. If the new AD cannot extract Frank's head out of Frank's ass, then Frank goes next.

They are the ones who want Bamford gone and the University (nor Steve) doesn't have a clue the impact of what those fans have because they have been fleeing/gone for so long. Bamford continues to hunt for and kiss the asses of the whales ($$$) when he really should be trying to appeal to the "little people".

[69MG]

I'll put this here, but it could go in multiple threads. I went to the Sports Luncheon today and the speakers were Thorr and Frank. Just my own opinion, but Thorr is involved with other sports much more than his "title" would lead one to believe. He talked about Tennis, Rowing, Lacrosse, Field Hockey, etc. as well as football. And he talked in terms of trying to win MAC championships in those types of sports. Read into it what you want, but maybe, just maybe, things will happen. Thorr made one really good comment about attendance. He talked about the marketing efforts, community outreach and all of that and then said, "There is no chicken or the egg theory when it comes to attendance. You have to win!"

As for Frank, I'll skip over the general stuff we always hear about the portal, NIL, referees, etc. and just talk about what he said regarding the team. He seems pretty confident that nobody else will go in the portal and he talks to the players just about every day. They have agents and the agents (and parents) are chasing the money. He said agents are getting as much as 20% of what the player is offered. But so far he says the conversations have been good the guys are working out.

As for recruiting, he touched upon the 5 guys we knew were coming:
Hailey - good point guard who is also becoming a scorer. But he's also small and that's an issue.
Christian Martin - Frank says his kid can really shoot it. I hope he's right.
Helgason - 6'9 or 6'10 and has a great stroke.
Zemljik - 6'5 and he can finish through contact and take it to the hole.
Sylla - 6'10, 270 and mean. Frank says he thinks Sylla is the best center in New England, high school or prep school. He might foul out in 10 min.

He talked about having 1 commit already and I see that Jordan Clayton from Northwestern announced today. He adds a little size to the PG spot. Any future commits will also come from the portal.
He has a kid coming in tomorrow who will visit us and BC. I don't remember how he described his game. He also has a kid coming in next week who has D1 experience and is a proven DI shot blocker. Don't know what our chances are of getting him.

That's all I can remember. If anyone else went, please add on or fix any mistakes I made.

[InnervisionsUMASS]

Great insight, 69MG, thanks!

[Juice Stand]

... He seems pretty confident that nobody else will go in the portal and he talks to the players just about every day. They have agents and the agents (and parents) are chasing the money. He said agents are getting as much as 20% of what the player is offered. But so far he says the conversations have been good the guys are working out.

Nice report 69, thank you. I hope he's right that nobody else will leave. Having 5 returning scholarship players, and a walk-on with leadership abilities in Rollie is decent continuity, even if there isn't much returning production. Danny's a heck of a PG that needs to improve his shooting, and I'm still optimistic about Wimbley's potential. That also gives us two experienced centers in Clerc and Luka, which I'll take even with their flaws. And we all know what Ndjigue brings to the table.

That agent statement is exactly what I was talking about the other day. 20%, are you kidding me? Maybe Frank was exaggerating, but these agents are snakes that are cleaning up by filling their rosters with $50-100k (or more?) midmajor players, and then stuffing their pockets with $10-20k+. I'm glad the players are getting paid, they deserve it, but the system needs some serious regulation and probably more importantly education for the players about money and agents.

[69MG]

^ One thing I didn't mention regarding the portal and NIL was Michigan winning the NCAA with 5 transfers. Someone brought that up at the luncheon and asked about NIL. Frank said he knows how much NIL a couple of the players got. Lendeborg got $4 million and another starter got $2.5 million. We all know the system is broken.

[eldonabe]

UMass and Frank cannot play in that NIL sandbox... plain and simple.


UMass has to embrace what they are in hoops.... UMass is a stepping stone (for players and coaches).

Pay a younger, up and coming Head Coach $500k - $750K - give him $3M for his roster and sell recruits on preparing them for P4 money and exposure.

I could get on board with that system - just stop pretending you are something you are not. Bamford and Frank are constantly pissing on our heads and telling us it is raining.

[Jack]

Yes the "system" is broken and corrupt and many people are losing any type of rooting interest in the quaint notion of cheering on a college program that is actually an assemblage of paid athletes w/zero interest in the university beyond what they are offered as compensation to play a sport. It's just not particularly fun or compelling to do so. c'est la vie. And I have a Condo for sale at Quabbin Resevoir fore anybody who believes that K'Jei Parker is transferring to Ball State for academic opportunities or b/c Ball State offered him less than whatever UMass offered to retain him.

[eldonabe]

Yes the "system" is broken and corrupt and many people are losing any type of rooting interest in the quaint notion of cheering on a college program that is actually an assemblage of paid athletes w/zero interest in the university beyond what they are offered as compensation to play a sport. It's just not particularly fun or compelling to do so. c'est la vie. And I have a Condo for sale at Quabbin Resevoir fore anybody who believes that K'Jei Parker is transferring to Ball State for academic opportunities or b/c Ball State offered him less than whatever UMass offered to retain him.

I would love to buy you place on the Quabbin, alas.... I cannot purchase it under your conditions

[Floyd]

And I have a Condo for sale at Quabbin Resevoir fore anybody who believes that K'Jei Parker is transferring to Ball State for academic opportunities or b/c Ball State offered him less than whatever UMass offered to retain him.

First off, nobody said anything about transferring for "academic opportunities", or that he wanted to take less to go to Ball State. Keep twisting words. My guess is Frank didnt want him, he knew he wasn't going to get more playing time, and looked elsewhere. What would you do? Probably got more to go there because UMass wasn't offering much. Since you know all the numbers, fill us in on the amounts everyone was paying. Do you think if he felt like he had a great opportunity at UMass next year to play starter minutes which should have gotten him more $$, that he would jump because they offered him a little more? We're not talking jumping from UMass to Connecticut where the money is vastly different. My bet is that he's not here because Frank didnt want him. Remember, he's got his kid coming in next year.

[69MG]

^ Floyd, I agree with you on almost everything. Parker was probably told by Frank that his playing time wasn't going to increase. Frank loves Danny, even though he yells at him (everyone gets yelled at). Frank seems pretty certain Danny is staying and he will start. Hailey is coming in and Frank said that he passes like Danny and shoots like Parker. So Hailey is the end of close game PG unless Danny gets a lot better from the line. That will steal minutes from Parker. Frank wants bigger shooting guards, so Parker wouldn't see time there either.

I don't think Frank's son has much to do with it as much as Hailey does and whoever else he gets in the portal. But you are correct in that Frank probably didn't want him so he could use that spot for a more pressing need. All speculation, but that's what the off-season is for.

[inthescoop]

If UMass offered $25k and Ball State offered $20k, I bet he took Ball State, because the new coach there believes in him to be a day 1 starter and values that he can make an impact immediately as a veteran. That's more important than some money, Jack.