The transfer portal is OVERFLOWING, here are some reasons why!

The reasons for transfer are really endless at this point. Some, people on the outside can understand with ease, and then there are other reasons that people just can’t fathom. But at the end of the day, the choice remains all on the athlete’s shoulders. And I know some people hate the fact that you will NEVER really know WHY they chose to leave one place and head to another, but they owe it to no one to explain, they just need to be satisfied with the choice they made.

But let’s get into 5 of the most common reasons.

1.)        The season didn’t go as well as they thought it would.

And what all does that mean? It means that the athlete had a set of expectations that weren’t met. Sometimes these expectations aren’t rational or realistic, but it’s not what we think, it’s about what the athlete is thinking.

For example, they may have come in as a freshman fully expecting to play a lot of minutes or to play right away. This is a very common scenario. College athletics is much harder and different than playing in high school, and half the time kids are “slapped” in the face with the amount of hard work it actually takes to succeed and make through a full season at a high level. And it’s only the first year.

2.)        Coaching changes

The coach that originally recruited them is no longer a part of the program and now the athlete wants to leave as well. On occasion a player will leave one program and essentially follow a coach to the next program. Other times, the player considers going to another program they may have had interest in before when they were being recruited in high school. And lastly, when it comes to coaching changes, what most athletes DO NOT admit, is that they are truly just afraid and not prepared for the change of a new coach coming into the program. Therefore they try and control the situation by bouncing and choosing to go somewhere else, instead of taking on the “challenge” of learning someone new and adapting to the situation.

3.)        Their stock rose!

This case is probably the “BEST” one in my opinion. An athlete chose a program/coach in the beginning, did some great things that season, and exceeded everyone’s expectations including their own. So much so that they might even have their coach’s blessing in this case (this has been known to the be the case a time or two, especially when transferring to a higher division). And when an athlete truly expresses their goals and all the things they would like to accomplish within their athletic career, some of these choices don’t come as a surprise.

This could be an athlete who didn’t have a bunch of options coming out of high school but always had a vision that they could play at the highest level, and even take things further once their college career ended. And once they began to make a name for themselves at the next level, felt it was in their best interest to level up as soon as the chance presented itself. 

With that being said, there are often those athletes who THINK their stock rose, when it fact it did not and they may find out soon enough that that choice may not have been the best for them, while it was a great choice for someone else. 

4.)        Influenced by other players

There are times when other players move and change teams, that completely influence every other roster, a true domino effect. And this can come about in several different forms.

a.)        A player declaring for the draft.

b.)        A top player of one program deciding to leave, which opens the door for another top player from a completely different program the opportunity to come in and make an immediate impact.

c.)        Close relationships. Whether these be high school friends, or past teammates from AAU or another team, or a relationship of another type, these athletes want to end up on the same team together somewhere so they decide to try and make that happen.

5.)        The change of environment is a MUST

There are several scenarios that come to mind for this case, but the main ones are relatively simple. Either the athlete feels they are too close to home, too far away from home, OR there is something “toxic” going on within the team that they may be trying to remove themselves from. And in order to be successful, the athlete feels like this is very necessary, despite what things may look like on the court!

When it is all said and done, my biggest hope is that any athlete that is making this type of decision during this time has the support they need to make the best decision for them. These can be major life changing decisions that have an effect on other outcomes. Think things through, weigh the options, and make your decision. No one said it would be easy, but the decision is ultimately all up to the athlete.