100+ freshmen and transfers who will make a big impact this season

Player movement is at an all-time high in college basketball. With the NCAA’s extra year of eligibility due to COVID-19 still in effect, along with the one-time transfer rule, high schoolers reclassifying later and later in the offseason and more international recruits than ever entering the sport, roster continuity is essentially a thing of the past. It also makes it increasingly difficult to figure out which newcomers will make the biggest impact.

That’s where these rankings come in. Instead of having separate freshman and transfer rankings, we have grouped them together. Below, the 100 newcomers — and some other names to watch — who should have the biggest impact on their new teams.

As always, a reminder: This is a ranking based solely on expected impact for this season. It’s not a mock draft and it doesn’t simply rehash our recruiting or transfer rankings. For example, Baylor‘s Ja’Kobe Walter, (No. 7 in the ESPN class of 2023) was ranked behind Colorado‘s Cody Williams (No. 6) and might go lower in the NBA draft than UCLA‘s Aday Mara (unranked in the ESPN 100) — but he has a clearer path to an immediate impact this season.

1. Hunter Dickinson, Kansas Jayhawks (transfer)

If Zach Edey doesn’t repeat as Wooden Award winner, it might be because of Dickinson. Perhaps the best player in portal history, Dickinson averaged 18.5 points and 9.0 rebounds at Michigan — and is now on the No. 1 team in the country.