With the transfer portal playing such a huge role in how college basketball rosters are built these days it is more difficult than ever to know the different rosters in your league. For that reason we will be breaking down the transfer portal classes of every single team in the SEC with a multiple part series. If you haven’t yet read part four, you can do so here. Here is part five:

 

Vanderbilt

Duke Miles (Oklahoma)
Tyler Harris (Washington)
Mason Nicholson (Jacksonville State)
Jalen Washington (North Carolina)
Mike James (NC State)
AK Okereke (Cornell)
Frankie Collins (TCU)
George Kimble III (Eastern Kentucky)

 

Another SEC mega-class is Vanderbilt who had a lot of rebuilding to do after losing a bunch of players following what was an excellent first season for head coach Mark Byington.

Duke Miles was known to Byington from when Byington was at James Madison and Miles was in the same league at Troy, and they now reunite after Miles got SEC experience at Oklahoma. He will bring excellent shooting to the perimeter.

Also bringing tremendous shooting is Tyler Harris, who shot 50% from three at Washington. Add in that Harris is 6’8”, and you can see how he’ll be useful.

Mason Nicholson probably goes into the category of “size is tough to get.” The 6’10” center was a decent piece for three years at Jacksonville State but topped out at 7.5 points and 7.4 rebounds per game.

Jalen Washington is a big that comes with a bit more pedigree after playing three years at North Carolina, though he hasn’t reached what were high hopes coming out of high school. He will bring great athleticism and length to the Vanderbilt roster.

Mike James will be looking for a big bounce back after missing the 2024-25 season due to an injury he suffered in the preseason after transferring to NC State. Prior to that he had two seasons of double digit scoring at Louisville, and he’s itching to get back on the floor.

Given Vanderbilt’s tough academic standards it makes sense that they’d look to the Ivy League for talent and this year that pipeline brings in 6’7” forward AK Okereke. Okereke is an excellent finisher at the rim who loves to play through contact.

After stints at Michigan, Arizona State, and TCU Frankie Collins has had the reputation as a “good stats, bad team” guy who hasn’t won many games but has always put points on the board. He’ll be looking to change around that reputation by playing on a winning team while still bringing the scoring that Mark Byington wants.

George Kimble was a late addition as he waited until late in the transfer portal season to make his decision, which very well may have driven up his value. The 6’2” guard averaged 18.0 points and 2.6 steals per game in the Atlantic Sun which is a league that has produced some good uptransfers recently, so this could be an important player to watch out for.

 

Missouri

Jayden Stone (West Virginia)
Shawn Phillips (Arizona State)
Sebastian Mack (UCLA)
Luke Northweather (Oklahoma)
Jevon Porter (Loyola Marymount)

 

Missouri has been ramping up their high school recruiting recently which has made their portal recruiting a big more of an exercise in big swings.

Jayden Stone is an absolutely fascinating pickup with a unique story. In 2023-24, Stone scored a remarkable 20.8 points per game as a physical 6’4” guard. However–he did it for Detroit Mercy, who by several metrics could be considered the worst team in division-I basketball which led a lot of teams to not want to touch him. West Virginia chose to take him, but then Stone suffered an injury that put him out for the entire season, and this makes him extremely intriguing for this year.

Shawn Phillips has a massive frame at 7’0” and 245 pounds, though in three years he is yet to see much floor time. Missouri has done well with these kinds of players in the past, so he could see an increase in minutes and role.

Sebastian Mack had two strong seasons for UCLA, but was looking to get to a system where he could be showcased further on the offensive end. A big, strong, 6’3” guard–he will have no problems moving to the SEC.

Luke Northweather is another frontcourt depth piece. The 6’11” center struggled to get on the floor for the last two seasons at Oklahoma.

Jevon Porter, a lanky 6’11” big, has had two strong stops at Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount and he’s ready to leave the west coast and take a leap in competition. A stretch big, Porter took 5 threes per game last season.

 

South Carolina

Mike Sharavjamts (Utah)
Nordin Kapic (UC San Diego)
Meechie Johnson (Ohio State)
Kobe Knox (South Florida)
Christ Essandoko (Providence)
Elijah Strong (Boston College)

 

Mike Sharavjamts, known as “Mongolian Mike” going back to his time as a fan favorite in Dayton, has subsequently had stops at San Francisco and Utah where he has done okay as a role player who can make some shots but hasn’t been able to step into a bigger position.

Nordin Kapic played a big role in the success of UC San Diego, one of the best mid-majors in the country last season. The 6’8”, 245 pound forward won’t have great height or length in the SEC but he’s a high-IQ offensive player who can shoot the three.

Meechie Johnson has completed what can only be considered one of the most rare moves in the sport, the “double boomerang” as I will coin it. What that means is that Johnson started his career at Ohio State, then transferred to South Carolina, then “boomeranged” back to Ohio State, and now, shockingly, has “double boomeranged” back to South Carolina. Putting points on the board has never been a problem for Johnson but efficiency has–and he’ll need to improve in that area if he’s going to be considered a winning player.

Kobe Knox is an example of a modern wing that everyone wants, a 6’5” athlete who can defend multiple spots and then make catch and shoot threes on the other end. This should be a high-floor pickup.

Elijah Strong is another wing in this mold, though he’s a bit bigger and less athletic at 6’8”. Look for him to play the power forward spot where he’ll look to spread out defenses with the shooting threat.

Christ Essandoko is a behemoth of a man at 7’0” and 285 pounds, and what he lacks in mobility he makes up with some pretty good hands and even a decent jumper. You’d expect South Carolina to roll out Essandoko in a lot of matchups.