Beating the Portal: Mid-Major Programs Retaining Key Players for 2026-2027
McNeese, Vermont, Austin Peay, and Missouri Valley programs are defying the odds. Here are the mid-major stars turning down the portal to stay home.
There is no doubt that the transfer portal is highly active this year. With over 2,000 entries, we’ve approached an asinine level of movement throughout the college basketball world. However, there are a few shining bright spots that remind us, some players are deciding to stay loyal.
Rumors around what players are asking in the portal in terms of payment is shocking a lot of people, including myself. Allegedly, there are players who averaged 6-7 points per game as a freshman on a power conference roster that are asking for upwards of $5m. You can imagine when I first read that, my jaw was on the floor. However, without truly being connected into the sources myself, maybe don’t read too much into that. Regardless, players expectations are skyrocketing.
This makes it tougher to compete as a mid-major in college basketball as you are not just fighting to gather resources to be able to fund your program, you are now dealing with agents and other third-parties that are overstating the value of players monetarily so they can get a larger slice of the pie. That doesn’t even factor in if you are a mid-major with football because you are then fighting for just a slice of the resources your university and alumni are willing to give.
Despite all of these factors going against mid-major programs, we’ve had some incredible stories developing over the last couple of weeks. Some players, key players to be exact, are sticking to their oaths and staying with their coaches to build something at their programs. We aren’t just talking about programs like Utah State who have significantly more resources than the average team. Programs like UIC, Vermont, Valparaiso, Evansville, Austin Peay, Illinois State, and many more have been able to retain at least one of their key players for next season despite the fact there is no doubt they would have made more money else where.
Let’s dive into who’s sticking with their team for next season.
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McNeese
There might not be another mid-major program that’s rolling quite like McNeese. With three NCAA Tournament appearances in a row, despite a new head coach, the Cowboys are also rolling in the NIL resources. The word on the street is, they doubled what they already had, which if true…is incredible.
The star of the show last season was Larry Johnson. The 6’4 freshman guard is a prolific slasher and offensive weapon. He averaged 17.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 49.2% overall. He’s not a three-point threat at just 23.8%, but he showed some glimpses of what could be an area for him to grow into.
Johnson finished the season with a 30.5% possession usage which was 43rd overall and a 33.3% shot percentage which was 16th in the nation. He also featured an 18% defensive rebounding percentage, a 8.6% turnover rate which was 82nd best, and he drew 5.9 fouls per game which was 97th overall.
Initially, Johnson entered the transfer portal where he surely would’ve made millions from a power conference program. However, it was announced that he ultimately withdrew and will be returning to the Cowboys next season. Coupled with additional transfers coming in, McNeese is going to be looking like a dangerous team once again next season.
Austin Peay
Austin Peay put together a strong season, finishing 22-9 and 15-3 in the Atlantic Sun before falling to Queens in the conference tournament. The Governors are now returning two of their key players in Zyree Collins & Rashaud Marshall as they aim to punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament next season.
Collins put up incredible metrics in his freshmen season. He finished with a 26.4 assist rate which was 164th best in the country and a 4.1 steal percentage which was 30th overall. He averaged 13.5 points, 3.1 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 2.1 steals per game while shooting 43.1% overall from the floor and 31.3% from beyond the arc. He put up some incredible games like 16 points with 14 assists against Bellarmine and racking up seven steals against North Florida.
Rashaud Marshall finished the season in the top percentile of offensive players with a 130.2 offensive rating which was 55th overall. He was 24th in effective field goal percentage, 21st in true shooting percentage, and 87th in two-point shooting percentage. He averaged 16.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists, and one steal per game while shooting 65.5% overall from the floor.
With two of their most talented players coming back, the Governors are already positioning themselves for success in the 2026-2027 season after putting together a strong campaign this year.
Vermont
The Vermont Catamounts started the season just 5-5 with some close losses to Buffalo, Liberty, and Yale, but they rebounded to finish the season 22-12 overall and 12-4 in the America East. They ultimately fell to UMBC in the conference tournament, so there is no doubt that John Becker is going to be looking to build up the Catamounts to make a run next season.
A large piece of their success this season was led by Gus Yalden. Yalden is a 6’9 incoming junior that averaged 16.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 2.1 assists while shooting 50.7% overall from the floor and 34.7% from beyond the arc on 3.8 attempts per game. He started his career at Seton Hall where he appeared in 26 games and averaged 8.4 minutes.
Yalden finished the season 11th in possession usage while taking 34.5% of the team’s shots which was the 8th best in the nation. His 56.1% effective field goal percentage was 297th overall and he featured a 10.1% offensive rebounding percentage, a 17.7% defensive rebounding percentage, and a 21 assist rate. Needless to say, Yalden was phenomenal for Vermont.
Entering the offseason, mid-major fans have come to expect that players like this will ultimately leave to go to a high-major or a power conference program where they’ll be paid handsomely. However, Yalden shocked the college basketball world while posting a thoughtful video. In it, he mentioned that “the grass isn’t always greener” while stating…”he’s back”. Could he have made significant money elsewhere? Absolutely. However, he’s sticking with Coach Becker and the Catamounts as they’ll look to return to glory in the 2026-2027 season.
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Missouri Valley
The Missouri Valley as a whole is doing a great job of retaining talent. I’ll state the fact that if you are a Bradley fan reading this…I’m sorry.
Illinois State announced that both Johnny Kinziger and Chase Walker would both be returning to the Redbirds next season. Walker averaged 13.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 2.1 assists while shooting 54.5% overall and 29% from three-point. Kinziger averaged 11.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.3 steals while shooting 40% overall and 33% from three-point.
The Redbirds went on a run to the NIT Semifinals and while they ultimately lost Ty’Reek Coleman to the portal, retaining their top two players in both Walker and Kinziger is going to position them well to be one of the top favorites in the Missouri Valley entering next season.
The UIC Flames fired off a series of posts announcing that players would be returning including the following: Mekhi Lowery, Rashund Washington Jr., Jayce Nathaniel, Andy Johnson, and Ahmad Henderson II. While they lost their leading scorer Elijah Crawford, they returning their next four top offensive pieces. Just as a friendly reminder, the Flames went on a run in Arch Madness to reach the Championship where they fell to Northern Iowa.
Lowery averaged 8.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.4 steals. Washington Jr. averaged 8.7 points and five rebounds. Johnson averaged 11.2 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.7 assists. Henderson II averaged 12 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 2.3 assists. Nathaniel averaged 6.2 points and 4.5 rebounds.
Similar to UIC, Valparaiso also released several “I’m Back” graphics to announce the return of some key players. The full list includes: Justus McNair, JT Pettigrew, Rakim Chaney, Sader Servilus, and Carter Hopoi. The Beacons showed a lot of improvement this season and Roger Powell has now been able to retain some of their key players to build up for next sesaon where they are most likely going to be a threat in the Missouri Valley.
McNair averaged 7.9 points, 1.8 rebounds, and one assist. Chaney averaged 10.3 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.4 steals. Pettigrew averaged 12.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.8 assists. Servilus averaged 2.6 points and 2.6 rebounds. Hopoi averaged 3.8 points and 1.8 assists.
Evansville had a rough season, but one of their bright spots came from AJ Casey. Casey previously played on the Miami Hurricanes squad that went to the Final Four and he’s battled injuries throughout his career. He had his first full opportunity last year and he took advantage. He averaged 13.5 points, 5.9 rebounds, two assists, and 1.2 steals while shooting 51.1% overall and 33.9% from beyond the arc. He continuously improved throughout the season and was a large reason why the Aces were able to compete in conference more strongly over the last month or so of the season. Many assumed that he’d hit the portal, but instead he announced that he’ll be returning.
Freshman Bryce Quinet was another bright spot for the Aces as he averaged 8.7 points, 2.1 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and one steal per game while shooting 40.9% overall and 30.3% from three-point. He showed a lot of promise as a freshman, including some strong performances in conference play against Bradley, SIU, and Valpo. Similarly, I figured he’d hit the portal, but he elected to return with Casey.
The Aces also retained redshirt freshman Aaron Gutman and freshman James Dyson-Merwe. They still have a long way to go to build a roster that can compete in the Missouri Valley, but being able to retain two strong players in both Casey and Quinet should at least spark some hope for Evansville fans.