On Monday, April 6, either the UConn Huskies or Michigan Wolverines will be crowned national champions at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
Just hours after the confetti falls and “One Shining Moment” plays, the college basketball world will undergo massive changes when the transfer portal officially opens on Tuesday, April 7.
The portal is open until Tuesday, April 21. Two years ago, the portal was open for 45 days beginning right after Selection Sunday. Last year, the portal was open for 30 days after the opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament. This year, that time was cut in half to 15 days and won’t open until the final college basketball game of the 2025-26 season.
Players seeking an opportunity elsewhere must enter the portal in that 15-day window (unless there is a coaching change) but do not have to commit to a new program in that span. Announcements were already made as to which players will enter the portal, but it won’t become official until April 7.
Xavier expected to be very active in transfer portal
For Xavier, the transfer portal will play a big part in what the roster will look like seven months from now when the 2026-27 season tips off.
Last year, head coach Richard Pitino and his staff filled all but two of Xavier’s roster spots with transfers. Returning redshirt guard Roddie Anderson III and high school recruit Kason Westphal, who redshirted, were the outliers. Xavier hit on some pieces last year and missed on some others. The end result was the program’s second losing season in three years.
Don’t expect that type of offseason to be the norm from Pitino, who expressed his desire to have a blend of high school recruits, returning players and portal additions.
“I really believe that’s the way to do it,” Pitino said after Xavier’s season-ending loss to UConn in the Big East Tournament. “Obviously, you can’t do it when you inherit no players, but certainly we’re going to start that process moving forward.”
According to multiple sources, Xavier was operating with an NIL budget around $5.5 million last season, which was just below the Big East average. Sources also told The Enquirer that Xaiver is expected to increase its budget for the upcoming season as the price tag on building a competitive college basketball team continues to climb.
“I know the school is going to step up in a bigger way financially,” Pitino said on his podcast in March.
Where does Xavier’s roster stand heading into the opening of the transfer portal?
Six players from last year’s team are out of eligibility: Tre Carroll, Filip Borovicanin, Malik Messina-Moore, Isaiah Walker, Ian Sabourin and Michael Wolf.
Of the eight remaining scholarship players with eligibility, we know the fate of half of them. Xavier will likely land its next point guard via the transfer portal after All Wright and Anderson announced they will go into the portal when it opens.
Down low, big man Anthony Robinson is also hitting the portal after a sub-par season with the Musketeers where he was pulled from the starting lineup and struggled to get minutes.
One of the biggest offseason questions was answered when Jovan Milicevic announced that he’d return. The 6-foot-10 forward was put into the starting center role with Xavier’s frontcourt struggles. He averaged 12.4 points and 3.9 rebounds per game while shooting 42.9% from 3-point range. The Musketeers set a single-season school record for 3-pointers made (309) with Milicevic leading the way (67).
That leaves four players with undetermined fates leading up to the portal’s opening: Mier Panoam, Gabriel Pozzato, Pape N’Diaye and Westphal.
The biggest name in that quartet is Pozzato, who missed all of last season with a knee injury after a promising freshman campaign at Evansville. Pozzato returned to practice in a limited capacity down the stretch but never made his Xavier debut.
N’Diaye was part of Xavier’s struggles down low and had a few solid moments in 29 appearances off the bench. Panoam appeared in seven games in mop-up duty off the bench and Westphal redshirted.
Xavier also has a trio of Class of 2026 commits
Remember recruiting classes? Xavier has three incoming freshmen from the Class of 2026.
In September, Xavier got a commitment from 4-star guard Kalek House. He’s the son of former NBA player Eddie Young and the younger brother of Jaelen House, who played three seasons for Pitino at New Mexico. House, who signed his National Letter of Intent (NLI) in November, is a top 10 prospect in Arizona for the 2026 class, according to 247Sports.
In November, Xavier got a commitment from 4-star forward Asher Elson out of Overtime Elite in Atlanta. In the 247Sports Composite Rankings, he is the No. 5 player in Georgia in the 2026 class.
Xavier also got a commitment from unranked guard Gedeon Basson in February out of Victory Rock Prep in Bradenton, Florida.
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This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Where Xavier Musketeers roster stands heading into the transfer portal
Reporting by Shelby Dermer, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
