College basketball is about to end, with only the Final Four and national championship games left in both men’s and women’s basketball. This means that, except for the four schools still in the running in each category, the minds of most program leaders are already in offseason mode. And what’s the most important bit of the offseason? Rebuilding rosters and recruiting players.
In modern-day college sports, nothing has more influence on how schools plan the recruitment and construction of their rosters than the transfer portal. Modern college athletics has come to be defined by this tool, through which all student-athletes are now basically free agents who can come and go as they want from one school to another.
Here are the key dates for the transfer portal in both men’s and women’s college basketball.
| Event | Men’s Basketball | Women’s Basketball |
| Portal Opens | Tuesday, April 7, 2026 | Monday, April 6, 2026 |
| Portal Closes | Tuesday, April 21, 2026 | Monday, April 20, 2026 |
| Recruiting Visits/Contact Period | April 10 – April 30 | April 10 – April 30 |
So it’s safe to say that the transfer portal will be the defining feature of college basketball in April, once national champions are crowned early in the month. Key players have already declared their desire to change schools, with examples such as Oregon’s men’s player Jackson Shelstad and Iowa’s former five-star recruit Addie Deal.
Olivier Rioux Becomes the Latest Player to Join the Transfer Portal
Florida’s Olivier Rioux announced on Tuesday that he’s joining the transfer portal. At 7-foot-9, Rioux is considered the tallest basketball player in the world at the moment, and the tallest person ever to play college basketball.
He announced through his X account with a statement that read:
“After taking time to reflect on my journey and what’s best for my future, I’ve decided to enter the transfer portal.”
It wasn’t an unexpected decision for the fans, as earlier in the year, Gators coach Todd Golden told ESPN that Rioux’s future might not lie with the Gainesville school:
“I know he’s sitting over there probably like, ‘Damn man, I didn’t know all these guys were coming back,'” Golden told ESPN. “So it’s going to be a tough one this year to play. It really will be. But … I do think he has some really good basketball ahead of him, whether it’s here at Florida or somewhere else.”
In April, we will eventually know what’s to be of the future of the tallest basketball player in the world.
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