First-year transfers are making their mark in the 2026 Men’s NCAA Tournament ahead of the Sweet 16.
In the current era of name, image and likeness (NIL) overtaking the sport, transfers have as big an impact as ever on college basketball rosters. Most of the top transfers still alive in March Madness were paid handsomely for a chance at a deep NCAA Tournament run.
Advertisement
REQUIRED READING: Re-seeding Sweet 16 teams: Separating the contenders from pretenders
Depending on the situation, a Sweet 16 run could be considered “mission accomplished” for a few programs. For others, such as No. 1 seed Michigan, it serves as the potential first stop en route to on a Final Four berth.
Here’s a ranking of the top first-year transfers of the Sweet 16 in the 2026 men’s NCAA Tournament:
Ranking top first-year transfers of Sweet 16
1. Yaxel Lendeborg, Michigan
The No. 1-ranked transfer portal prospect from the offseason has lived up to his billing in his first season at Michigan after transferring from UAB. The first-team All-American won Big Ten Player of the Year this season, averaging 14.7 points with 6.9 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game on 51.5% shooting.
2. Bennett Stirtz, Iowa
Iowa guard Bennett Stirtz has had a wild college career, starting at Division II Northwest Missouri State before following coach Ben McCollum to Drake and, now, Iowa.
Advertisement
He has blossomed into a potential 2026 NBA Draft lottery pick with the Hawkeyes averaging 19.7 points with 2.7 rebounds and 4.5 assists this season while scoring 30 or more points three times.
REQUIRED READING: Sweet 16 bold predictions: Which No. 1 seed is most at risk? Who makes Final Four?
3. Pryce Sandfort, Nebraska
Nebraska standout Pryce Sandfort left Iowa in the offseason after the Hawkeyes moved on from longtime coach Fran McCaffery. It turned out to be the right move for the 6-foot-7 sharpshooter, as he averaged 17.9 points with 4.9 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game on 41% shooting from 3-point range.
4. Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Tennessee
Ja’Kobi Gillespie starred for Maryland last season while making a Sweet 16 run, and he’s doing the same for Tennessee in 2025-26.
Advertisement
Gillespie has 50 combined points in the Vols’ two NCAA Tournament wins over Miami (Ohio) and Virginia, racking up nine assists against the RedHawks and six against the Cavaliers. Gillespie, who started his career at Belmont from 2022-24, averaged 18.4 points with 2.8 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game this season.
5. Aday Mara, Michigan
Former UCLA center Aday Mara has been a huge playmaker for the Wolverines alongside Lendeborg in 2025-26.
The 7-foot-3 big man is surprisingly skilled for his size, averaging 2.5 assists per game this season along with 12 points and 6.9 rebounds on 67.5% shooting percentage. Mara mostly came off the bench for UCLA in his two seasons there, showing the transfer was well worth it as he projects to be an NBA first-round pick in 2026.
REQUIRED READING: How UConn basketball’s defense returned Huskies to national contender status
Advertisement
6. Silas Demary Jr., Connecticut
Georgia transfer Silas Demary Jr. has been UConn’s primary ball-handler this season, raising the ceiling of its offense as he averages 6.1 assists per game.
Demary Jr. is fifth on the team in scoring (10.6 points per game), but his impact has been felt more than that. He’s also a pesky defender, averaging 1.7 steals per game while helping UConn’s defense move up to No. 11 adjusted defensive efficiency, per KenPom.
7. Andrej Stojakovic, Illinois
Andrej Stojakovic, the son of NBA sharpshooter Peja Stojakovic, has been a spark plug off the bench for Illinois this season.
Advertisement
The 6-foot-7 wing started his career at Stanford before transferring to California and now Illinois, where he averaged 13.5 points with 4.5 rebounds per game this season. He wasn’t much of a shooter in 2025-26, shooting 24.1% from 3-point range, but he’s coming off a 21-point performance in the Fighting Illini’s 75-66 win over VCU.
8. Matas Vokietaitis, Texas
The 7-foot transfer from Florida Atlantic averaged 15.7 points and 7.2 rebounds per game this season, and is coming off a pair of huge performances against BYU and Gonzaga. Vokietaitis had 23 points with 16 rebounds against the Cougars and 17 points with nine rebounds against the Bulldogs.
9. Dailyn Swain, Texas
Dailyn Swain followed coach Sean Miller from Xavier to Texas in the offseason and has improved each of his top statistic averages. The 6-foot-8 forward averaged 17.4 points with 7.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game this season on 54.5% shooting, a step up from his 11.0/5.5/2.6 averages a season ago. Swain is averaging 12.7 points with 6.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists during Texas’ NCAA Tournament run.
10. Oscar Cluff, Purdue
Oscar Cluff was one of the most productive centers in college basketball last season at South Dakota State, but opted to take a lesser role to compete for a national title at Purdue.
Advertisement
The 6-foot-10 big man averaged 10.5 points with 7.5 rebounds per game this season as a paint anchor for the Boilermakers. Cluff was at his best in the Big Ten Tournament championship game vs. Michigan, dropping 21 points with five rebounds and a block in the 80-72 win.
Honorable Mention
Dylan Darling, St. John’s
Darling isn’t a top-five scorer for St. John’s and combined for eight points in two March Madness games this offseason.
But the Idaho State transfer is the literal reason St. John’s is still dancing: He hit the game-winning, buzzer-beating shot against Kansas in the second round, sending the Red Storm to the Sweet 16 of March Madness for the first time since 1999.
Advertisement
And isn’t that part of the beauty of March Madness, after all?
The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Top transfers of NCAA Men’s Tournament: Which players have biggest Sweet 16 impact?
Read the full article here