TRANSFER PORTAL

What Happens When You Enter

Your current school is notified and your scholarship can be pulled immediately. Never enter the portal as a threat or bargaining chip — it almost always backfires.

Evaluate Before Entering

• 01Have an honest conversation with your current coaching staff first
• 02Make sure interest from other programs is real, not speculation
• 03Understand your scholarship status — will the school pull it upon entry?
• 04Verify academic credits transfer to target schools
• 05Evaluate the new program's depth chart honestly

Before You Enter the Portal — The Honest Conversation

The transfer portal is permanent. Once you enter, your current school is notified and your scholarship can be pulled that same week. There is no "just exploring" mode. Before entering, have an honest answer to each of these:

• 01Have you talked directly to your head coach? Not the position coach, not through a teammate — the head coach. Many transfer situations resolve in this conversation. Many that could have resolved do not happen because athletes skip it.
• 02Is the reason you want to leave fixable? Playing time, coaching relationships, and position changes are sometimes negotiable. Personal fit, financial issues, and academic program mismatches are harder to fix without moving.
• 03Do you have real interest from other programs — not just interest in other programs? "I want to go there" and "they want me there" are completely different situations. Do not enter the portal without having had a genuine recruiting conversation with at least one destination program.
• 04Will your credits transfer? Check with the registrar at your target schools before entering. Some major-specific credits do not transfer and athletes lose a semester of eligibility-clock progress without realizing it.
• 05What happens to your scholarship the day you enter? Ask your current athletic department directly. Some programs pull it same day. Some give a grace period. Know this before you enter.

Transfer Portal Windows — 2025 Update

What a Good Transfer Decision Looks Like

The transfer portal has a completion rate problem. Many athletes enter, accept the first offer they receive, and find themselves in the same or worse situation at a new school. A good transfer decision has all of these:

• ✓A clear problem at the current school that is genuinely not fixable
• ✓Real, active interest from at least two destination programs before entering the portal
• ✓A scholarship offer in writing — not a verbal commitment — from the destination before the portal window closes
• ✓Credit transfer verified and academic standing confirmed at the new school
• ✓An honest assessment that the depth chart situation at the new school is actually better — not just different