Winners of the Portal

Just like there are a lot of different reasons for players to enter the portal, coaches hold a lot of different reasons for using it. Needing to fill roster spots due to losing players to the portal or graduating a large senior class the season before, searching for more depth in a position group, attempting to find more leadership and experience from an older player, and filling holes after a tough recruiting year are all common examples of why coaches might shop around in the transfer portal. This year we are seeing more portal activity than ever before, and it is time to look at which programs are the “Winners of the Portal” from the winter window.

1.    SMU – PPV: 1215

Looks like Sam Erger is sticking with last year’s method of building back her team through experienced players from the portal. They have 6 high level players joining their squad including Averi Carlson and two of USC’s starting attackers from this past season.

2.    Auburn – PPV: 937

The War Eagles are coming in heavy with 6 players signed from the portal. This was much needed after losing a rather large senior class and losing two girls to the portal. This group will have depth for days on the outside pin next season.

3.    Arizona State – PPV: 681

The Sun Devils are welcoming 4 new members to their team. After a standout freshman season at Cincinnati, Libero Faith Frame is headed west and joining her will be Zoe Burgess who stepped up big for Kansas last fall as a freshman MB.

4.    Kentucky – PPV: 660

Kentucky hit the jackpot this year bringing in 3 players of all different positions. Leading the pack is All-American outside Eva Hudson from Purdue who was a great get for the Wildcats. Alongside her will be Molly Berezowitz, a Libero from Marquette, and Lizzie Carr, a MB from Purdue, who will add some much-needed depth to UK’s roster in those two positions.

5.    Creighton – PPV: 627

After losing a large senior class who carried a lot of load for the program their past four years, the Bluejays recruited hard to find the pieces they needed to rebuild for this upcoming year. The newcomers include B10 standouts Saige Damrow and Eloise Brandewie who will fit right into Creighton’s strong defensive system as well as Annalea Maeder and Ivy Lueck to try and fill the shoes of All American setter Kendra Wait.  

6.    Honorable Mention: Wisconsin, Louisville, Minnesota, and Texas.

All four of these programs grabbed some big-time names from the portal (Mimi Colyer to Wisconsin, Chloe Chicoine to Louisville, Lourdes Myers to Minnesota, and Torrey Stafford to Texas). Their PPVs do not matchup with the top 5 listed due to either fewer number of players added to their squad or equal number of players transferring out as well as in due to roster cuts. So, while they may not stack up analytically, they grabbed some of the best players from the portal and in our eyes are some of the biggest winners after portal window one.