The new-look Pac-12 is introducing seven new teams to the conference for the 2026-27 men’s basketball season. Alongside these new teams, a host of newcomers, brought in via the transfer portal, will be showcased to fans of the reformed Conference of Champions.
In days gone by, transfers were mostly supplementary to the returning players, guys who had been with their teams 2-3 years, who would be the real stars. In today’s reality, transfers are becoming the stars. It’s worth getting to know these newcomers’ names because they’ll probably be on the all-conference ballot come season’s end.
With that in mind, the following are the top five incoming Division I transfers to the Pac-12 and its schools according to their average portal recruitment rank from EvanMiya.com, On3 and 247 Sports.
5. DeShawn Gory
6’6″ 165 lbs, F, So. | Oregon State (via Fresno State) | 13.7 Pts, 6.2 Reb, 2.0 Ast in 2025-26
Transfer Rankings
- 132nd by EvanMiya
- 294th by On3
- 219th by 247Sports
Does this count as an in-conference transfer? DeShawn Gory is going from one of the new members of the conference, Fresno State, to one of the legacy members, Oregon State. However you want to classify this move, it’s an incredible get for the Beavers. Gory starred as a freshman, displaying his versatile game as a 6-foot-6 wing. There’s development needed, particularly in adding bulk and refining his shooting efficiency numbers. But those are both things that time and development will bring, and Gory has plenty of room for both.
4. Ty Rodgers
6’6″ 200 lbs, F, Jr. | Boise State (via Illinois) | 6.2 Pts, 5.3 Reb, 2.0 Ast in 2023-24
Transfer Rankings
- 132nd by EvanMiya
- 294th by On3
- 219th by 247Sports
Boise State is taking a flier on a player who hasn’t stepped on the court in uniform since 2024. Ty Rodgers is an incredibly talented man, being a former top-60 recruit who started 38 games for Illinois in a run to the Elite Eight. He reportedly redshirted the year after starting all those games, reportedly doing so voluntarily, and then missed this past season due to a knee injury.
Assuming Rodgers can shake off the cobwebs, he’s an all-conference caliber player and a shoo-in for the all-defensive team. His potential for first-team all-conference honors or even Player of the Year consideration will depend on whether he can develop an outside shot. But he’ll be a leader for the Broncos regardless.
3. Isiah Harwell
6’6″ 220 lbs, F, So. | Gonzaga (via Houston) | 3.6 Pts, 2.0 Reb, 0.5 Ast in 2025-26
Transfer Rankings
- 221st by EvanMiya
- 135th by On3
- 122nd by 247Sports
Isiah Harwell entered college as a highly-touted recruit, 12th overall in his class and a high school teammate of projected No. 1 overall pick AJ Dybantsa. His actual freshman year turned out to be a tad underwhelming. Harwell was an OK player. He came off the bench for a dominant Houston team, contributed some, but had his rough patches. Going from his freshman to sophomore season, there’s a chance for Harwell to make a massive jump. He’s highly unlikely to be the star of Gonzaga’s squad, given the players the Bulldogs have returning (and at least one other transfer we’ll get to in a moment), but he is very likely to be an impact player.
2. Daniel Freitag
6’2″ 195 lbs, G, Jr. | Oregon State (via Buffalo) | 19.8 Pts, 4.3 Reb, 3.8 Ast in 2025-26
Transfer Rankings
- 109th by EvanMiya
- 146th by On3
- 152nd by 247Sports
Oregon State already returns one of the best guards in the conference with Josiah Lake. In adding Daniel Freitag, the Beavers make the case for having the best backcourt in the whole Pac-12. Maybe even one of the best backcourts in the western U.S.
Freitag is a 20 PPG scorer (yes, I know, but close enough) that is stepping into a scoring vacuum left by the Beavers losing all but one of their players from the 2025-26 season. There’s no one to fall in line behind in the scoring totem pole. If you’re making a shortlist of potential leading scorers for the Pac-12, keep Freitag near the top of it.
1. Massamba Diop
7’1″ 230 lbs, C, So. | Gonzaga (via Arizona State) | 13.6 Pts, 5.8 Reb, 2.1 Blk in 2025-26
Transfer Rankings
- 24th by EvanMiya
- 5th by On3
- 6th by 247Sports
In this ranking, there’s Massamba Diop, and then there’s everybody else. Diop is the only consensus top-100 transfer recruit, and two of the recruiting sites put him inside the top six nationally. He’s going to step right in and contend to not only be the league’s Defensive Player of the Year, coming off a freshman season where he averaged 2.1 blocks in the Big 12, but potentially the Player of the Year award. His own frontcourt teammate, Braden Huff, is one of the few who could get in his way for the latter honor.
Honorable Mention
- Nick Anderson (San Diego State via Rice)
- Will Hornseth (Utah State via Northern Iowa)
- Quel’Ron House (Texas State via Southern Illinois)
- Justin Menard (Colorado State via Marist)
- Dovydas Butka (Boise State via Campbell)
