The Transfer portal: details and what to expect

There are a few days in college volleyball that bring absolute chaos and surprise. One of those days just happened, Selection Sunday, then another one comes just one week from then. The transfer portal opens on December 8th. Dun Dun Dun… The transfer portal brings a lot of chaos and for a volleyball nerd like myself a lot of fun and anticipation, waiting to see who ends up where. Although this day will be fun for me, I'm sure there are lots of people unsure of what this means for their favorite athletes, teams, and fandoms. So here is a bit of a rundown on what the transfer portal entails.

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First of all, December 8th is just the first day that an athlete is allowed to enter into the transfer portal. That does not mean that all volleyball players that are transferring will go in on Sunday. There will be an influx of players on Sunday but they will also continue to trickle in as the team's season ends. Another logistical aspect of the portal is that “we” (the common folk) do not have access to the portal and can only find things out via social media, word of mouth, etc. At VB Adrenaline, we will be gaining knowledge from our sources and sharing it as we get it, but when it comes to viewing the actual portal only college coaches have access to that. 

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So what does it mean if your favorite player goes into the portal, but their team is still playing? Well I cant speak for every situation and these are ones where I would KILL to chat with the athlete ASAP, but, generally this is a situation where the athlete and coach have agreed that the athlete is going to transfer for reasons like school, scholarship availability, going to play beach, or other amicable reasons. There generally is not “bad blood” so to speak in situations where an athlete is still playing in the NCAA tournament, but is in the portal. 

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Now after a team's season ends is when we will see most of the players enter into the transfer portal for reasons mentioned above or so many other potential reasons that I can’t even begin to speculate on. This is where we will see some surprises enter as well as potentially some that we could guess to see. Once an athlete is in the portal they will generally start taking calls from coaches and scheduling visits so that they can make their decision. Some athletes will have to rush to decide so they can report for spring practices in January and others will slow play their process and wait until they get through the spring to make their decision. These players will choose to slow play it through the spring because maybe they are finishing up a degree, or they are just in no rush to make a decision right now. 

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“Transfer portal season” brings lots of speculation and for me, a ton of fun! There are lots of puzzles to be figured out and a lot of coaches who will be looking for the right pieces. With new roster cap rules and in the new age of NIL the transfer portal will only get more interesting. We will continue to do reports on how the portal is going throughout the season. Good luck to the athletes making a big change. And to the fans, I know I'm looking forward to seeing who ends up where!