The NCAA Tournament finished on Monday with the Michigan Wolverines being crowned as champions, which means the NCAA transfer portal opened the day after.
For the Houston Cougars, they saw their season end in the Sweet 16 after getting stunned by an eventual Final Four squad, Illinois. With the Cougars expected to lose a handful of key players such as Kingston Flemmings, Emmanuel Sharp and Milos Uzan, they are already being linked to players in the transfer portal.
With the portal process moving quickly, the Cougars are reportedly expected to host a pair of notable transfers over the next few days.
Houston Cougars linked to mutiple top transfers
Notre Dame guard Markus Burton celebrates during a NCAA men’s basketball game against Missouri. | MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
As reported by James Mueller of Coogs.com, Houston will be hosting both Notre Dame guard Markus Burton and Kent State forward Delrecco Gillespie.
“Notre Dame guard Markus Burton and Kent State forward Delrecco Gillespie are scheduled to visit Houston by this weekend,” wrote Mueller.
Burton is certainly the more high-profile transfer of the two, as 247Sports ranks him as the No. 21 player in the portal and the No. 7 point guard overall. He is coming off a short yet effective season for the Fighting Irish, in which he averaged 18.5 points, 2.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game, while shooting 48.9% from the field and 30.6% from deep in 10 games.
He unfortunately suffered an ankle injury that kept him sidelined for most of the season, but the 2024-25 season certainly was another shining example of how good he can be. He averaged an ACC-high 21.3 points, while shooting 44.2% from the field and an impressive 37.5% from deep.
Burton has been named to the All-ACC team twice in his career, and was also named ACC Rookie of the Year the season prior.
As for Gillespie, he seems like the prototypical Sampson player, as he is pure hustle and toughness. He led college basketball in double-doubles this season with 22. The 6-foot-8 forward that weighs in at 230 pounds averaged 17.7 points and 11.3 rebounds, while shooting 50.8% from the field. He is yet to be ranked in the transfer portal, but with proudction and four years of experience, it wouldn’t be shocking to see that he’s attracting the interest of teams all over the country.
As of now, guard/forward play seems to be the biggest priority for Houston, whose lone signee in 2026 is 7-foot-1, five-star center Arafan Diane.