2026 men's college basketball too early Top 25: Where Duke, Michigan, UNC rank

The college basketball transfer portal opens Tuesday, and the comings and goings in April will have a major impact on what the preseason Top 25 looks like for 2026-27.But what’s the fun in waiting? Congratulations to Michigan. We’re onto next season.In making this list, I project potential lineups and will sometimes include “Portal TBD” in a starting spot. There’s a certain assumption of what that player will look like depending on the program, what kind of NIL funds they have and their history with recruiting the portal or that position. Also, a “Portal TBD” might not just be a player coming from another college. It can include players from overseas, who will likely fill some of these spots. I’m also trying to project who will return and not leave for the NBA and baking that into these rankings. I’m not going to be perfect there, but remember that even players projected to go late in the first round are now candidates to return because it’s possible a college basketball team can pay that player more than he’d make next season in the NBA.Advertisement