Recruiting your own roster: 10 retention wins that matter more than portal adds

Florida only added one player via the college basketball transfer portal ahead of the 2026-27 season, but came away as one of the biggest winners of the offseason due to retention. The Gators were able to keep leading scorer Thomas Haugh and two-year starting forward Alex Condon for next season, despite both players having heavy NBA interest. Starting guard Boogie Fland is also returning, and starting center Rueben Chinyelu is testing the NBA draft waters while maintaining his eligibility.

Elsewhere, Connecticut was able to keep March Madness hero Braylon Mullins for his second season , despite Mullins being projected as a first-round pick. There's a new No. 1: College basketball transfer portal team rankings Basketball portal’s early losers: Big names, big swings, bigger questions Sometimes the best additions are the ones already on the roster, especially in today’s era of the transfer portal and name, image and likeness influencing players' decisions.

Here’s a look at our top-10 retentions ahead of the 2026-27 college basketball season, whether it was an NBA or portal decision looming: College Basketball Transfer Portal Retention Wins Braylon Mullins, UConn Mullins proved to be a missing puzzle piece for Dan Hurley and UConn to get back to the Final Four as an all-around player, highlighted by his ability to hit challenging shots. He hit the game-winning shot to get the Huskies to within two wins of their third national championship title in the past four NCAA tournaments. After averaging 12.

0 points per game, 33. 5% from 3-point shooting and 29 starts in 33 games, he was being projected as a mid- to late-first round draft pick in the upcoming NBA Draft. However, he opted to return to the Huskies for his sophomore season, where there's "unfinished business" to be settled.