Transfer Portal 2026

[MikeUMA]

Sad to say, but the first report has come in. For me, he is the #1 guy I wanted to keep and there's a long way between him and # 2 or #3 (Danny, Jayden). I hope this Hailey kid is as good as we've been told.

Tobias Bass @tobias_bass
2m
NEWS: K'Jei Parker (UMASS) plans to enter the transfer portal, his agent @Ryanmurphhoop tells @TheAthleticCBB

He averaged 10.7 points, 1.9 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game

Thanks for sharing. Updated https://umasshoops.com/wiki/doku.php?id=season_2026-27

[JoleonLescottsHair]

It really doesn't matter who enters the portal. NIL has damaged the game beyond repair and the only thing that would matter is if Frank (or Bamford or the Collective) had some specific organizing philosophy or approach to the program. They don’t. So, it is simply a revolving door year to year and anyone who believes Frank’s “we need rim protectors or shooters etc” or the Collectives “we need to retain talent” is a complete fool. There is no vision; no embrace of pride or tradition; no strategy. Nothing. Just a bunch of cliches tossed around while people collect paychecks, while collectives fundraise, and while players make disingenuous statements about their tough decision to move on. It is completely broken.

[69MG]

Over 650 names already in the "pre-portal". One of note is Xander Alerie, son of Duke star, Mark Alarie. He was at Northeastern after redshirting a year at Miami (Fl, not Ohio). Was having a pretty good year at Northeastern until a shoulder injury sidelined him. Play him as a 4 and don't let him shoot from 3.

https://nuhuskies.com/sports/mens-basketball/stats

[inthescoop]

It really doesn't matter who enters the portal. NIL has damaged the game beyond repair and the only thing that would matter is if Frank (or Bamford or the Collective) had some specific organizing philosophy or approach to the program. They don’t. So, it is simply a revolving door year to year and anyone who believes Frank’s “we need rim protectors or shooters etc” or the Collectives “we need to retain talent” is a complete fool. There is no vision; no embrace of pride or tradition; no strategy. Nothing. Just a bunch of cliches tossed around while people collect paychecks, while collectives fundraise, and while players make disingenuous statements about their tough decision to move on. It is completely broken.

Precisely... there is no vision.

[Plano Minuteman]

Since winning doesn't seem to be a concern, maybe we should just being going after players who have a particular attribute that is intriguing. Maybe get someone who can leap like Herndon but isn't necessarily a basketball prodigy and try to get Olivier Rioux, the 7'9" dude transferring from UF. Have dunk contests in warm-ups.

[Scott O]

Since winning doesn't seem to be a concern, maybe we should just being going after players who have a particular attribute that is intriguing. Maybe get someone who can leap like Herndon but isn't necessarily a basketball prodigy and try to get Olivier Rioux, the 7'9" dude transferring from UF. Have dunk contests in warm-ups.

Not a bad idea. I would be in favor of them bringing in a guy like Curly Neil who dribbles really close to the ground while he’s spinning around and the defender unsuccessfully chases him in circles. I could watch that all day long.

[NilesGold]

It really doesn't matter who enters the portal. NIL has damaged the game beyond repair and the only thing that would matter is if Frank (or Bamford or the Collective) had some specific organizing philosophy or approach to the program. They don’t. So, it is simply a revolving door year to year and anyone who believes Frank’s “we need rim protectors or shooters etc” or the Collectives “we need to retain talent” is a complete fool. There is no vision; no embrace of pride or tradition; no strategy. Nothing. Just a bunch of cliches tossed around while people collect paychecks, while collectives fundraise, and while players make disingenuous statements about their tough decision to move on. It is completely broken.

I think this is right.

It would be great if during that last press conference Frank/Bamford came out and said they had been going about things wrong and they have gone back to the drawing board and came up with some sort of strategy.

Not sure why I'm spending the time to do this, but here's what I would do:

Admit that Frank was not prepared to win at UMass and didn't have a strategy that was going to work here. You cannot use the same formula that you employed at Kansas State or South Carolina 10 years ago and win at UMass today. You can't get the overall well-rounded caliber of players at UMass on a budget... say goodbye to centers that you can dump the ball into and consistently and efficiently score PLUS protect the rim. You cannot get 6'6" guards who can prevent dribble penetration, shoot 3's at 35%+ and create shots for themselves... etc etc...

Pick a lane, create an identity, then figure out how to make that vision a reality. If it was me, I would focus on defense first. When you're on a tight budget it's easier to get players who don't put up great stats but can defend at a high level. Make defense your bread and butter, recruit towards that, talk about it all the time, make it your thing.

[Floyd]

Shahid Mohammed back in the portal after a season at Florida State

[TruBluMaroon]

Since winning doesn't seem to be a concern, maybe we should just being going after players who have a particular attribute that is intriguing. Maybe get someone who can leap like Herndon but isn't necessarily a basketball prodigy and try to get Olivier Rioux, the 7'9" dude transferring from UF. Have dunk contests in warm-ups.

UM is one of the few teams that still has a low-post friendly offense……OR will fit in ! Less than a 5 hour drive! There can’t be enough leg room on a plane
for a 7’9” guy!

[wmmmfan]

Brandon Benjamin 6’8” PF from Fairfield entered the portal. Was recruited by UMass out of STM in CT last year. He had a strong Freshman year for the Stags.
https://x.com/Sam_Federman/status/20390 ... 03191?s=20

[69MG]

^ I would go after him. Seems like a good fit to replace DHS. He's about the same size, seems pretty athletic and put up good numbers at Fairfield. I'm a little surprised at how few offers he got coming out of STM. In the 2 power conf. games that Fairfield played, he put up 18 and 10 against Penn State and 11 and 9 against Seton Hall.

https://fairfieldstags.com/sports/mens- ... stats/2025

High School: Benjamin was an All-State and All-Bergen County selection at Bergen Catholic. He also played one season at Link Academy where his team ranked among the Top 10 in the nation. In his post-graduate year at St. Thomas More, Benjamin averaged 19 points per game and led the NEPSAC with 15 rebounds per game on his way to an All-America Honorable Mention and First Team All-NEPSAC honors. The #3 ranked prep player in Connecticut by the New England Recruiting Report, Benjamin helped lead the Chancellors to the National Prep Championship Game.

[TruBluMaroon]

Since winning doesn't seem to be a concern, maybe we should just being going after players who have a particular attribute that is intriguing. Maybe get someone who can leap like Herndon but isn't necessarily a basketball prodigy and try to get Olivier Rioux, the 7'9" dude transferring from UF. Have dunk contests in warm-ups.

UM is one of the few teams that still has a low-post friendly offense……OR will fit in ! Less than a 5 hour drive! There can’t be enough leg room on a plane
for a 7’9” guy!

[LouMass]

[quote="Scott O"

Not a bad idea. I would be in favor of them bringing in a guy like Curly Neil who dribbles really close to the ground while he’s spinning around and the defender unsuccessfully chases him in circles. I could watch that all day long.
[/quote]

Brilliant!!

[69MG]

Maybe Cheick can recruit this guy. He is from Senegal and Cheick is from Mali, but what the hell, go for it:

Georgia Tech freshman center Mouhamed Sylla plans to enter the Transfer Portal, On3’s Joe Tipton and Pete Nakos report. Sylla was tabbed as a four-star recruit in the Class of 2025 by Rivals.

In his first season of college basketball, the Senegal native averaged 9.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.2 blocks, and 0.6 assists in 16 games. Sylla missed Georgia Tech‘s final 12 games of the season with an ankle injury. He scored in double figures in 10 of his 16 games.

[Juice Stand]

It really doesn't matter who enters the portal. NIL has damaged the game beyond repair and the only thing that would matter is if Frank (or Bamford or the Collective) had some specific organizing philosophy or approach to the program. They don’t. So, it is simply a revolving door year to year and anyone who believes Frank’s “we need rim protectors or shooters etc” or the Collectives “we need to retain talent” is a complete fool. There is no vision; no embrace of pride or tradition; no strategy. Nothing. Just a bunch of cliches tossed around while people collect paychecks, while collectives fundraise, and while players make disingenuous statements about their tough decision to move on. It is completely broken.

I think this is right.

It would be great if during that last press conference Frank/Bamford came out and said they had been going about things wrong and they have gone back to the drawing board and came up with some sort of strategy.

Not sure why I'm spending the time to do this, but here's what I would do:

Admit that Frank was not prepared to win at UMass and didn't have a strategy that was going to work here. You cannot use the same formula that you employed at Kansas State or South Carolina 10 years ago and win at UMass today. You can't get the overall well-rounded caliber of players at UMass on a budget... say goodbye to centers that you can dump the ball into and consistently and efficiently score PLUS protect the rim. You cannot get 6'6" guards who can prevent dribble penetration, shoot 3's at 35%+ and create shots for themselves... etc etc...

Pick a lane, create an identity, then figure out how to make that vision a reality. If it was me, I would focus on defense first. When you're on a tight budget it's easier to get players who don't put up great stats but can defend at a high level. Make defense your bread and butter, recruit towards that, talk about it all the time, make it your thing.

I'm not exactly sure what recruiting strategy will work with Frank. I haven't loved what I've seen from a coaching standpoint in his four years so it may be irrelevant if during the games he continues to play favorites, make bad decisions, and do his pouting/quitting thing on the sideline.

I'll reiterate that my preference is to focus on retention. I think that's where he can find some success. No matter the talent level (unless we're talking a Beasley type, which isn't happening), he will not win with a revolving door of players. I'll use 2023 as an example: two A10 first teamers in Cross and Cohen, Rahsool was voted most improved, and Curry was all-rookie, and he only got to 20 wins by squeaking by Fordham in the last regular season game and then blown out in game 1 of the A10 tournament. There were only 3 returning scholarship players on that team (Cross, Thompson, and Diggins). That's probably the ceiling of what we should expect for talent, and it wasn't nearly good enough under him.

And if you're expecting Frank to say he's reevaluated and come up with a new strategy, keep waiting. He said something like "what won 30 years ago still wins today" in that press conference. He's not changing.