The 2025 college football season is officially over, and transfer portal season is already in full swing. With the offseason now underway, the scene has been set for the 2026 college football transfer portal rankings.
The 2026 offseason has been uniquely eventful, with coaching changes sparking drama and personnel shifts across the board. Lane Kiffin has been at the center of the chaos since accepting the job at LSU in December, but his tenure has gotten off to a scorching hot start in the portal.
Kiffin has already convinced several key Ole Miss players to join him in Baton Rouge while landing other major commitments. He is not the only new head coach to have success in the portal, with Oklahoma State's Eric Morris, Penn State's Matt Campbell and Kentucky's Will Stein each having success amid changing jobs.
The transfer portal is still far from over, but the majority of the movement is already over. With that, here are the top 15 2026 college football transfer portal rankings after the National Championship Game.
1. LSU
Lane Kiffin did not waste any time hitting the portal after accepting the lucrative head coaching position at LSU. The former Ole Miss head coach unsurprisingly convinced a handful of former Rebels to follow him down south, including star edge-rusher Princewill Umanmielen and linebacker TJ Dottery.
Kiffin has also made several other splashes, including quarterback Sam Leavitt and ex-Florida receiver Eugene Wilson III. With returning stars like Whit Weeks and Trey'Dez Green filling out his roster, Kiffin's tenure could not be off to a better start as he prepares for spring practices.
2. Texas
Texas suffered a few surprise losses in Parker Livingstone and Jaime Ffrench Jr., but those are significantly outweighed by the talent Steve Sarkisian pulled in the 2026 college football transfer portal. The Longhorns loaded up on offensive talent, adding the No. 1 transfer portal receiver, Cam Coleman, and a pair of stud running backs in Hollywood Smothers and Raleek Brown.
With Arch Manning set to return, Texas has arguably the best offensive roster in the country entering the 2026 season. Sarkisian also added standout offensive tackle Melvin Siani, who allowed zero sacks in 2025, and two-time All-ACC linebacker Rasheem Biles.
3. Ole Miss
Ole Miss suffered several losses in players who opted to follow Lane Kiffin to LSU. However, head coach Pete Golding has effectively replaced most of the talent he lost following his superb College Football Playoff run.
The Rebels landed an excellent Trinidad Chambliss replacement in former five-star recruit Deuce Knight, who dazzled in his lone start of 2025. Golding added multiple defensive veterans as well, including former Florida State safety Edwin Joseph, emerging linebacker Luke Ferrelli, cornerback Jay Jay Crawford and defensive end Blake Purchase.
4. Penn State
With Matt Campbell taking over in Happy Valley, it comes as no surprise that Penn State recruited nearly every key Iowa State player in the 2026 college football transfer portal. Quarterback Rocco Becht headlines the group, which also includes running back Carson Hansen, tight end Benjamin Brahmer and safety Marcus Neal.
Campbell recruited a few other intriguing names, including former Ohio State running back James Peoples, whom many felt was going to take over the Buckeyes' backfield in 2025. Penn State suffered some losses in the portal, including former five-star recruit J'ven Williams and star cornerback AJ Harris, but the additions create a net positive.
5. Oklahoma State
Coming off a disastrous 1-11 season, Oklahoma State's 2026 offseason has nearly been a perfect storm. The Cowboys landed an ideal head coaching hire in Eric Morris, who brings with him a few of the biggest names in the 2026 college football transfer portal.
Oklahoma State's two biggest additions are Morris' two biggest stars at North Texas: quarterback Drew Mestemaker and running back Caleb Hawkins. The rest of Morris' incoming transfer class is mediocre, but Mestemaker and Hawkins are all he needed. The Cowboys lost leading rusher Rodney Fields and leading receiver Gavin Freeman, but fans will take that trade-off any day of the week.
6. Texas A&M
Texas A&M's 2026 college football transfer portal is very top-heavy, but the names it has managed to pull are among the best on the market. The Aggies obtained the most underrated player of the class in former Tennessee star cornerback Rickey Gibson, who missed the entire 2025 season due to injury.
Gibson is joined by a pair of former Alabama stars, receiver Isaiah Horton and guard/tackle Wilkin Formby. Mike Elko also brings in former Northwestern edge-rusher Anto Saka, who has 12 sacks in the last three years. The group is small but mighty, and Texas A&M did not lose any key players as outgoing transfers.
7. Texas Tech
After falling just short in the 2026 College Football Playoffs, Joey McGuire has reloaded in the transfer portal. Texas Tech replaces Behren Morton with the top quarterback in the portal, Brendan Sorsby, whom it paired with former Auburn receiver Malcolm Simmons and explosive ex-Liberty receiver Donte Lee Jr.
McGuire added more talent on the defensive side to cope with the losses of star linebacker Jacob Rodriguez, signing defensive tackle Mateen Ibirogba, linebacker Adam Trick and cornerback Davin Martin. The Red Raiders lost cornerback Maurion Horn, but they should otherwise not lose a step in 2026.
8. Oklahoma
Oklahoma did much better in the 2026 college football transfer portal than many realized. They did not make any big splash signings, but the Sooners added several game-changers who will improve their roster in the fall.
Oklahoma signed several intriguing offensive pieces, including former Virginia receiver Trell Harris, former Texas receiver Parker Livingstone and a pair of former Colorado State stars, running back Lloyd Avant and tight end Rocky Beers. All four have All-SEC potential. The Sooners did not make as big an impact on defense, but they did receive a commitment from former Michigan linebacker Cole Sullivan.
9. Ohio State
While Ohio State has been relatively quiet in the 2026 college football transfer portal compared to years past, it is still reeling in an impactful recruiting class. The Buckeyes nabbed former Alabama defensive linemen Qua Russaw and James Smith to lead their group. Former Duke safety Terry Moore and former four-star cornerback Dominick Kelly are also on their way to Columbus.
Ryan Day bolstered his class with a couple of low-risk, high-reward prospects in running back Ja'Kobi Jackson and linebacker Christian Alliegro, who both took steps back in 2025 after solid outings in 2024. The Buckeyes will have to hope both players pan out to ease the pain of losing former highly-touted recruits Quincy Porter, Faheem Delane and Tegra Tshabola.
10. Indiana
Curt Cignetti proved that he does indeed win, and it has convinced dozens of more talented players to join him in Bloomington. Indiana made its biggest move in the 2026 college football transfer portal by landing quarterback Josh Hoover, but it also received big-time commitments from wide receiver Nick Marsh, cornerback AJ Harris and edge-rusher Tobi Osunsanmi.
Indiana is losing a lot of talent to the 2026 NFL Draft, but it is not ceding much production to the transfer portal. Former four-star defensive end Andrew DePaepe, who played in only four games with the Hoosiers, is currently their biggest loss in the portal.
11. Michigan
Michigan is another team currently in the midst of a coaching change, leading to a mixed bag of results in the college football transfer portal. The Wolverines have certainly lost a lot, namely running back Justice Haynes, but their incoming group is just as meaningful.
Losing Haynes hurts, but it does not sting as much with Jordan Marshall returning and Bryson Kuzdzal withdrawing from the portal. Michigan adds three key former Utah players — defensive end John Henry Daley, tight end JJ Buchanan and cornerback Smith Snowden — in addition to former five-star receiver Jaime Ffrench Jr. Kyle Whittingham further provided depth to his quarterback room with Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi, who is Colorado State's fifth all-time leading passer.
12. Auburn
As soon as Auburn hired Alex Golesh, Tigers fans knew exactly what that meant for them in the 2026 college football transfer portal. Golesh brings with him a horde of former USF stars, with quarterback Byrum Brown, running back Nykahi Davenport and receivers Chase Nimrod, Keshaun Singleton and Christian Neptune all following him to the SEC.
Brown is the most exciting name in the group, as the exact type of player who can become the next college football star and get Auburn over the hump. Golesh also received a commitment from former Baylor running back Bryson Washington, who brings 1,861 career rushing yards to the Tigers.
Auburn's transfer portal additions rank among the best in the country, but it also suffered more losses than any other program. The Tigers watched star receivers Cam Coleman, Eric Singleton and Horatio Fields hit the portal at the end of the year, followed by starting tackle Xavier Chaplin and quarterbacks Deuce Knight and Jackson Arnold.
13. Kentucky
Will Stein has been cooking in his first offseason as a head coach. Kentucky's new leader was tasked with essentially building an entirely new team and is quietly, but successfully, constructing his roster from the ground up.
Stein found his quarterback in Notre Dame washout Kenny Minchey, whom he has built his new team around. Kentucky has since added All-SEC tackle Lance Heard and two-year Baylor starting center Coleton Price up front. Veteran running backs Jovantae Barnes and CJ Baxter fill out a roster that gives Stein a lot to work with in 2026.
14. Arizona State
Arizona State appeared to be on the wrong side of the 2026 college football transfer portal when it lost star quarterback Sam Leavitt and All-Big 12 running back Raleek Brown early on. The Sun Devils responded by extending head coach Kenny Dillingham, who has made the best of a sticky situation by landing a few key portal recruits to offset the losses.
Leavitt will be difficult to replace, but Dillingham brings in former Kentucky starter Cutter Boley and Mikey Keene from Michigan. Keene did not play in 2025, but he was a two-year starter for a Fresno State team that breached the top 25. Arizona State also adds first-team All-Mountain West linebacker Owen Long, who led the country with 151 tackles in 2025, and a pair of dynamic receivers in Reed Harris and Omarion Miller.
Dillingham is bringing in several other intriguing names, including FCS star Marquis Gillis, who wanted to be in Tempe so bad he offered to sleep in the airport. All in all, Arizona State has a lot to look forward to in the coming months.
15. Notre Dame
Marcus Freeman's offseason has been consumed by NFL job offers, which have yielded sufficient, yet disappointing, results in the 2026 college football transfer portal. Notre Dame has received only a handful of commitments thus far, none of which have made national headlines.
Irish fans are already excited about former five-star receiver Quincy Porter, who moves to South Bend after a non-productive season at Ohio State. Notre Dame also adds former Colorado cornerback DJ McKinney and defensive tackle Francis Brewu from Pittsburgh.
None of Notre Dame's transfer portal commits will knock anybody's socks off, but the Irish didn't lose anybody either, aside from backup quarterback Kenny Minchey. Freeman has a lot to look forward to with C.J. Carr's best days still ahead, likely leading to his conservative approach in the transfer portal.
