These instant-impact transfers will define the 2024-25 Big Ten basketball season.
Carter Bahns
Even with its lack of national championships over the last two decades, the Big Ten is one of college basketball's most formidable conferences, and it gets even stronger ahead of the 2024-25 season when UCLA, USC, Washington and Oregon bring traditions of success to the league. Those programs, along with the top returning schools, were heavily active in the 2024 transfer portal cycle and boast some of the best incoming talent in the nation, like No. 2 overall prospect Oumar Ballo.
Indiana geared up for a key campaign under head coach Mike Woodson with the second-ranked class in the cycle, and coaching changes at Ohio State and Michigan precipitated waves of portal standouts flocking to the rival schools.
In order for the Big Ten to take the next step and bring home a national title for the first time since 2000, these transfers must perform up to expectations and pair well with the returning talent and hordes of blue-chip recruits at their respective schools.
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Here are the top 10 transfers joining the Big Ten for the 2024-25 college basketball season:
10. C VLADISLAV GOLDIN, MICHIGAN
Transfer Profile: 4-Star | 95 Rating | No. 47 Overall | No. 8 C
Former School: Florida Atlantic
Russia native Vladislav Goldin was a key part of Florida Atlantic's Final Four run two years ago and developed further as a scorer last season, averaging 15.7 points to go with his 6.9 rebounds. He now follows his head coach, Dusty May, to Michigan as one of the mid-major stars poised to make an impact at the power conference level. At 7-foot-1, Goldin gives Michigan one of the Big Ten's most formidable frontcourt presences on both ends of the floor.
9. C AARON BRADSHAW, OHIO STATE
Transfer Profile: 4-Star | 95 Rating | No. 43 Overall | No. 7 C
Former School: Kentucky
Aaron Bradshaw was among the many players to both test the NBA Draft waters and enter the transfer portal this offseason. He remains a pro prospect but will benefit greatly from another year of college basketball, which he will play at Ohio State. The former five-star recruit and No. 1 center in the 2023 class was a projected one-and-done player at Kentucky last season, but his freshman year did not go as planned as Bradshaw missed time with a fractured foot and settled into a bench role after making just 10 starts.
8. PG KYLAN BOSWELL, ILLINOIS
Transfer Profile: 4-Star | 95 Rating | No. 39 Overall | No. 9 PG
Former School: Arizona
Illinois has its next primary ballhandler in Kylan Boswell, who landed at Arizona two years ago as a five-star recruit and flashed his upside early last season. That sophom*ore campaign was a bit inconsistent as Boswell scored as many as 20 points and dished out a high of eight assists but also had outings where he largely disappeared from the stat sheet. If he can iron out those off-nights, the point guard could reach his ceiling with the Illini.
7. SG DESMOND CLAUDE, USC
Transfer Profile: 4-Star | 95 Rating | No. 33 Overall | No. 6 SG
Former School: Xavier
USC has a big hole to fill in its starting lineup with star guard Isaiah Collier off to the NBA as a projected lottery pick, and while Desmond Claude is less of a ballhandler than the former Trojan, he bolsters the team's backcourt ahead of the first year of the Eric Musselman era. Claude is the headliner of a USC transfer class that ranks in a tie for second nationally in volume with nine commits. He averaged 16.6 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists last season at Xavier.
6. C DANNY WOLF, MICHIGAN
Transfer Profile: 4-Star | 95 Rating | No. 29 Overall | No. 6 C
Former School: Yale
Danny Wolf is the higher-rated newcomer of Michigan's two 7-footers. He helped Yale spark a memorable run through the Ivy League Tournament and punch its ticket to the Big Dance with his 14.1 points, 9.7 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.3 blocks per game at the center spot. Wolf is the prototypical modern big man with an ability to put the ball on the floor and stretch defenses with athleticism away from the basket, and that skillset will translate beautifully to the high-major level.
5. CG MYLES RICE, INDIANA
Transfer Profile: 4-Star | 95 Rating | No. 27 Overall | No. 3 CG
Former School: Washington State
Myles Rice was one of college basketball's best stories from the 2023-24 season. The Hodgkin's Lymphoma survivor shined on the hardwood after completing his cancer recovery and was the catalyst behind Washington State snapping a 15-year NCAA Tournament drought. Rice, as a third-year freshman, averaged 14.8 points, 3.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.6 steals per game and set the WSU freshman record in essentially every major statistical category. He is a major pickup for Indiana ahead of a critical season.
4. CG KANAAN CARLYLE, INDIANA
Transfer Profile: 4-Star | 96 Rating | No. 18 Overall | No. 1 CG
Former School: Stanford
Indiana picked up a potential leading scorer in former blue-chip recruit Kanaan Carlyle, who missed the first month of his freshman season at Stanford but was an immediate-impact contributor for the Cardinal once activated. He averaged 11.5 points in just 25.6 minutes of action and showed that he can score from anywhere on the floor. Carlyle could be a primary ballhandler for the Hoosiers if needed but is just as electric off the ball. His shot-creating ability will be the best on the Indiana roster.
3. SF KOBE JOHNSON, UCLA
Transfer Profile: 4-Star | 96 Rating | No. 8 Overall | No. 2 SF
Former School: USC
The transfer portal opened the door to a new era of college athletics wherein players often move from one school to a rival program, and that is what Kobe Johnson elected to do with his intra-city transfer from USC to UCLA. He brings with him to Westwood two years of starting experience and three years of development as a stellar defensive weapon. Johnson appeared on the last two Pac-12 All-Defensive Teams. His offensive production is not entirely lacking, but a step forward in the shooting department would go a long way in making him a complete player.
2. C GREAT OSOBOR, WASHINGTON
Transfer Profile: 4-Star | 97 Rating | No. 7 Overall | No. 2 C
Former School: Utah State
Washington's NIL collective made Great Osobor the purported highest-paid player in the college basketball transfer portal this offseason when it awarded him with a $2 million package. The two-time transfer followed fast-rising coach Danny Sprinkle from Montana State to Utah State last season and again joined along for the ride to Washington. The Huskies secured the reigning Mountain West Player of the Year and an incredibly prized prospect who averaged 17.7 points and nine rebounds last season en route to 15 double-doubles.
1. C OUMAR BALLO, INDIANA
Transfer Profile: 4-Star | 97 Rating | No. 2 Overall | No. 1 C
Former School:Arizona
Stars at the center position were the most highly-coveted commodities on the transfer market this offseason, and Oumar Ballo is the biggest name and brightest star among the big men in the portal. He instantly raises Indiana's ceiling for the upcoming season as one of the best players in the Big Ten. The former Arizona star and Gonzaga signee averaged a double-double last season and is a beast on both ends of the floor who, when he is at his best, goes through stretches wherein he appears unstoppable.
This article originates on 247Sports.
