What top basketball players still in transfer portal are BYU and Utah linked to?

It’s been one month since the college basketball transfer portal closed and earlier this week was the deadline for players who declared for the NBA draft to withdraw from the draft and retain their college eligibility.

Heading into the month of June, there are 24 uncommitted players rated as four-star talents in 247 Sports’ transfer portal rankings.

Both BYU and Utah have multiple scholarships to fill at this point — the Cougars three and the Utes four — and they both have been linked to an available four-star player still in the transfer portal.

Who are the top uncommitted college basketball transfers in 247 Sports’ transfer portal rankings?

Uncommitted four-star transfer players in 247 Sports’ transfer portal rankings

• Jamir Watkins, SF, Florida State.
• Wooga Poplar, SG, Miami.
• Coleman Hawkins, PF, Illinois.
• Trevon Brazile, PF, Arkansas.
• Arthur Kaluma, SF, Kansas State.
• Garwey Dual, CG, Providence.
• Wesley Yates, CG, Washington.
• Ken Evans Jr., CG, Jackson State.
• Arterio Morris, CG, Kansas.
• DJ Burns, PF, Youngstown State.
• Ugonna Onyenso, C, Kentucky.
• KK Robinson, PG, Arkansas Little-Rock.
• Matt Bewley, PF, Chicago State.
• Mike Sharavjamts, SF, San Francisco.
• Kaden Cooper, SF, Oklahoma.
• Kevin Patton Jr., SF, San Diego.
• Keyon Menifield, PG, Arkansas.
• Jailen Bedford, SG, Oral Roberts.
• Lucas Taylor, SG, Georgia State.
• Chaunce Jenkins, SG, Old Dominion.
• Mawot Mag, PF, Rutgers.
• Ilane Fibleuil, SG, UCLA.
• Corey Washington, SF, Saint Peter’s.
• Ryan Bewley, PF, Chicago State.

What four-star players are BYU and Utah linked to?

On May 15, Jon Rothstein reported that BYU was in the final five for 6-foot-9 Rutgers power forward Mawot Mag, along with Clemson, San Diego State, USC and Southern Miss.

On Thursday, Aztec Tracker reported that San Diego State was out of the running with Mag.

Mag, who has a year of eligibility remaining, is described as a solid defender and started 16 of his 17 games played for Rutgers last season while averaging a career-best 9.1 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.1 steals per game.

While there have been no reported connections between BYU and former Illinois power forward Coleman Hawkins, one 247 Sports reporter mentioned the Cougars as a potential fit for one of the top remaining uncommitted players — he’s rated No. 22 overall in the transfer portal this offseason by 247 Sports.

“New BYU coach Kevin Young has hit the ground running since arriving on campus,” 247 Sports’ Cameron Salerno said in discussing why he suggests BYU as an option for Hawkins.

“The Cougars already landed prized international prospect Egor Demin and could be in the running to land AJ Dybantsa — the No. 1 recruit in the 2025 cycle by 247Sports. Hawkins could play either PF or center in Young’s system, which could elevate the program’s standing as they head into their second season as a member of the Big 12.”

On the Utah side, news on their four-star connection has been sparse as well. On May 10, ESPN’s Jeff Borzello reported that San Francisco transfer wing Mike Sharavjamts has narrowed his options to Utah, Saint Mary’s and Illinois.

Sharavjamts, who has two years of eligibility remaining, could provide a scoring punch for a Utah team that only returns about a third of its scoring production from a team that made the NIT.

Sharavjamts averaged 7.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game last season for the Dons, while shooting 42.4% from the field and 36% from 3-point range.

In addition to the transfer portal, in the modern college game with more frequency of transfers, there’s a growing likelihood of true freshmen who ask to get out of their National Letter of Intent after signing with a program, whether it’s due to fit, increased competition or a variety of reasons.

This past week, two top prospects ranked in the top 100 of 247 Sports’ composite rankings for the 2024 recruiting class are about to be released from their NLI and head back into the recruiting realm.

One was Jamari Phillips, a shooting guard who is No. 52 in 247 Sports’ composite rankings for the 2024 class — after signing with Arizona, he reopened his recruiting a few days ago. Phillips currently doesn’t have any links with either BYU or Utah, but is back on the board after decommitting from a fellow Big 12 school.

The other top 100 prospect who reopened his recruitment was power forward Sammie Yeanay, No. 93 in 247 Sports’ rankings. After signing with Arizona State, he reopened his recruitment after ASU flipped former Arizona commit Joson Sanon, a top 25 recruit that pushed the Sun Devils to No. 3 in the 2024 recruiting rankings.

Utah made Yeanay’s final five last fall, along with Arizona State, Florida, Ohio and Washington State, before committing to the Sun Devils. Could the Utes get back in the running for Yeanay?