Final exams: Grading how each Big 5 men’s basketball team fared in the transfer portal

This weekend marked the first time college coaches could directly contact basketball recruits in the class of 2026, juniors-to-be, and if your social media feeds were built with following college hoops in mind, you probably noticed your favorite team reaching out to a potential future recruit.

In other words, the college basketball news cycle has, for now, returned to its regularly scheduled summer programming. Even if tracking recruits still a long way from making their college choices isn’t your cup of tea, it beats what the last three months have been like trying to keep track of all the commitments, de-commitments, re-commitments, and whatever other new mode of moving from one place to another the transfer portal craziness has added to our basketball vernacular.

Around 2,100 Division I players — including walk-ons — entered the portal on the men’s side. That’s an average of around five to six players per team. And while the portal closed on May 1, there are still some Big 5 teams with open scholarships.

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But as teams continue with their summer workouts on campus, their rosters are mostly complete. There are very few major difference makers remaining in the transfer portal, and this off-season’s portal hauls are basically set.

As always, the transfer portal giveth and taketh. How’d the local teams do? Here’s a grade for all six Big 5 men’s basketball programs.

St. Joseph’s: As college hoops X account TrillyDonovan likes to say frequently: “Sometimes the best gets are the ones you already have.” That is particularly true for St. Joe’s, which kept star guard Erik Reynolds II, Atlantic 10 freshman of the year Xzayvier Brown, and junior forward Rasheer Fleming on campus. The Hawks lost Lynn Greer III to Temple, but they brought in Rutgers transfer Derek Simpson. They lost big man Christ Essandoko to Providence, but they got Harvard transfer Justice Ajogbor, who may be a better fit than Essandoko for what Billy Lange and Co. are trying to do. St. Joe’s will be among the favorites in the A-10. Grade: A

Temple: The Owls lost their top three scorers — Hysier Miller (Virginia Tech), Jordan Riley (East Carolina), and Jahlil White (La Salle) — but replaced them with a new-look backcourt that features Jamal Mashburn Jr. (New Mexico), Greer (St. Joe’s), and Jameel Brown (Penn State). Win? It seems like it, especially given the way those three complement one another. Adam Fisher also added frontcourt depth in Fordham’s Elijah Gray and then last week received a commitment from 7-foot-1 center Mohamed Keita, who comes to Temple after spending time at Tulsaand St. John’s. The Owls’ improved NIL abilities were on display during this portal season. Now, it’s time for Fisher and his staff to put the puzzle pieces together. Grade: A-

Villanova: One of these things is not like the others. Villanova certainly doesn’t have the positive momentum that St. Joe’s and Temple have going on paper. And if the Wildcats didn’t get a commitment from Philadelphia native and Miami transfer Wooga Poplar earlier this month, they would certainly be in trouble, especially after recruiting and then losing VCU transfer Max Shulga. But getting Eric Dixon back (and not having him enter the transfer portal) and getting a better playmaking point guard in La Salle’s Jhamir Brickus, along with the additions of Poplar and Fresno State big man Enoch Boakye will give Kyle Neptune a roster that at least on paper has the chance to get the Wildcats back to the NCAA Tournament. Now the hard part begins. But with Villanova’s NIL war chest, is this portal haul underwhelming? Grade: B

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Drexel: With little NIL support, it was always going to be impossible for Zach Spiker to keep his two best players, Amari Williams and Justin Moore, who are off to Kentucky and Loyola (Chicago), respectively. Drexel lost others, too, like Jamie Bergens and Lamar Oden Jr. and its only additions of college players this offseason have come from the junior college ranks. Still, Drexel has some returning talent, and is welcoming in a three-player freshman class. Enough to return to the top portion of the conference? We’ll see. Grade: C

La Salle: Fran Dunphy’s top five scorers entered the transfer portal, and although one of them, Daeshon Shepherd, returned to campus, it was a big blow. The Explorers added Penn State transfer Demetrius Lilley, as well as White from Temple, but other additions, like Rider’s Corey McKeithan and Long Island’s Eric Acker, likely won’t replace the void left in the backcourt by the departures of Brickus and Khalil Brantley (Oklahoma State). Don’t put anything past Dunphy, though. Grade: C+

Penn: There’s a difference between little NIL support (like at Drexel) and being in a conference, the Ivy League, that would rather pretend NIL didn’t exist. Penn lost its two graduate transfers, Andrew Laczkowski and Clark Slajchert, because the Ivy doesn’t allow graduate students to play, but the Quakers lost freshman guard Tyler Perkins to Villanova because the Virginia native could drop down slightly in school prestige while also putting a lot of money in his pocket. It’s not a total disaster for Steve Donahue, though. The Quakers brought in talented Drake transfer Ethan Roberts, a guard who two seasons ago was the Patriot League’s top freshman after scoring 12.4 points on 40.7% shooting from three-point range at Army. Grade: C+

Coming Wednesday, a look at the women’s side of the Big 5.