Every Big 12 Team’s Highest-Ranked Transfer

It’s hard enough keeping up with one school during the chaos of the transfer portal (especially when that one school adds north of 50 players).

I feel like I’ve known less about Big 12 teams entering seasons since the portal started going crazy because of the amount of turnover at each program. So, let’s get an early start on learning a few things.

Although we won’t be fully breaking down the portal hauls of each Big 12 school, let’s take a gander at who 247Sports and On3 consider each Big 12 program’s best transfer. We’ll go in order of 247Sports’ portal team rankings for the conference.

Oklahoma State

247Sports: Drew Mestemaker — QB (North Texas), No. 3

On3: Caleb Hawkins — RB (North Texas), No. 10

If you found your way to this website, you probably already know who these guys are, but for the sake of the exercise:

Mestemaker led the country in passing as a redshirt freshman in 2025 with 4,379 yards. His 34 passing touchdowns tied for second nationally with Duke (headed to Miami) quarterback Darian Mensah, trailing only Heisman Trophy winner/national champion Fernando Mendoza.

As a true freshman whose only FBS offer was to North Texas, Hawkins led the nation in total touchdowns, crossing the goal line 29 times in 2025. He finished his freshman year with 1,434 rushing yards, 25 rushing touchdowns, 370 receiving yards and four receiving TDs.

Texas Tech

247Sports: Brendan Sorsby — QB (Cincinnati), No. 2

On3: Austin Romaine — LB (Kansas State), No. 16

Big 12 fans will be familiar with both of these guys.

Sorsby started his career at Indiana before spending the past two seasons at Cincy, where he threw for a combined 5,613 yards and 45 touchdowns to just 12 interceptions as a Bearcat. He threw for a career-high 27 touchdowns in 2025. He also ran for nine more scores and a career-high 580 yards on the ground.

Romaine was a Wildcat for the past three seasons, where he made a combined 184 tackles, 17.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks and three forced fumbles. He missed some time in 2025, but in 2024, he finished the year with 96 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss and two sacks.

Arizona State

247Sports: Omarion Miller — WR (Colorado), No. 13

On3: Omarion Miller — WR (Colorado), No. 31

One where both of the major recruiting services agree.

Miller started games as a true freshman for Prime and Co. at Colorado in 2023 and has been productive ever since. He had his best year to date in 2025, catching 45 passes for 808 yards and eight touchdowns. To this point in his career, Miller has 66 catches for 1,258 yards and 10 TDs.

Colorado

247Sports: DeAndre Moore — WR (Texas), No. 20

On3: Ezra Christensen — DL (New Mexico State), No. 46

Moore had been a productive piece of the Texas offense the past two seasons, catching 77 passes for 988 yards and 11 touchdowns through those two seasons. He’s coming off a 2025 season that saw him grab 38 passes for 532 yards and four scores.

After starting his career at Fresno State, Christensen transferred to New Mexico State ahead of the 2025 season and made a name for himself. He made 42 tackles this past season, including 11 tackles for loss and six sacks.

Baylor

247Sports: DJ Lagway — QB (Florida), No. 14

On3: DJ Lagway — QB (Florida), No. 73

Lagway was a blue-chip high school prospect who started his career at Florida but will now play for his father’s alma mater. Derek Lagway was a running back for the Bears in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

In two years as the Gators’ starter, the younger Lagway completed 62% of his passes for 4,179 yards and 28 touchdowns to 23 INTs.

Kansas State

247Sports: Wendell Gregory — Edge (Oklahoma State), No. 71

On3: Wendell Gregory — Edge (Oklahoma State), No. 19

Pain.

Gregory was the Cowboys’ best pass rusher as a redshirt freshman in 2025, but now he’ll be a Wildcat. In his lone year with the Pokes, Gregory won Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year while making 27 tackles, 12 tackles for loss and four sacks.

BYU

247Sports: Cade Uluave — LB (Cal), No. 64

On3: Paki Finau — IOL (Washington), No. 218

Uluave has been a tackling machine for the Golden Bears the past three seasons. The 2025 campaign was his first to hit the century mark, as he finished this past season with 100 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, and three sacks. Uluave has made 237 tackles and 21.5 tackles for loss in his career.

Finau started four games at left guard for Washington as a redshirt freshman this past season. He’s listed at 6-foot-5, 310 pounds.

Cincinnati

247Sports: Cade Wolford — WR (Kent State), No. 152

On3: Thomas Johnson — Edge (North Carolina Central), No. 293

Wolford was a big play waiting to happen for Kent State this past season. He caught 19 passes for 509 yards and seven touchdowns — that’s about 27 yards a reception.

Playing at the FCS level, Johnson has 12 sacks in 12 games for North Carolina Central. He also finished the year with 49 total tackles, 18 tackles for loss and 14 quarterback hurries.

Utah

247Sports: Braden Pegan — WR (Utah State), No. 99

On3: Elijah Reed — CB (Akron), No. 183

After starting his career at UCLA, Pegan went to Utah State and quickly proved himself. In his first year with the Aggies, Pegan caught 60 balls for 926 yards and five touchdowns.

Reed started his career at Kentucky before moving to the MAC and getting regular playing time with the Zips. In the past two seasons with Akron, Reed has made 79 tackles and picked off three passes.

Houston

247Sports: Makhi Hughes — RB (Oregon), No. 214

On3: Shadre Hurst — IOL (Tulane), No. 91

Both of these guys reunite with Willie Fritz after having played under him at Tulane.

Hughes ran for 2,779 yards and 22 touchdowns across the 2023 and 2024 seasons with the Green Wave before transferring to Oregon and getting limited work in 2025.

Hurst has been a starter at guard for Tulane the past three seasons.

Arizona

247Sports: Cole Rusk — TE (Illinois), No. 118

On3: Cam Chapa — S (Northern Colorado), No. 250

Rusk was an FCS All-American at Murray State in 2023, where he caught 39 passes for 507 yards and six touchdowns but missed his first season in Champaign (2024) because of a knee injury. He played in all 13 of the Illini’s games this past season, catching 19 passes for 217 yards and a touchdown.

Chapa led Northern Colorado in tackles this season with 88, including a pair for loss. He also intercepted four passes, forced two fumbles and recovered a fumble.

Kansas

247Sports: Dylan Edwards — RB (Kansas State), No. 176

On3: David Santiago — Edge (Michigan State)

The Sunflower Showdown will be a little extra intriguing in 2026 with Edwards crossing rivalry lines to Lawrence. Over the past three seasons (one at Colorado and the past two at K-State), Edwards has 1,072 rushing yards, eight rushing touchdowns, 449 receiving yards and six receiving touchdowns.

Santiago made 24 tackles for Michigan State in 2025, including 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks.

West Virginia

247Sports: Cam Cook — RB (Jax State), No. 304

On3: Cam Cook — RB (Jax State), No. 80

Cook was at TCU when Rich Rodriguez was coaching Jax State, but now the two will link up in Morgantown. Cook ran for 460 yards and nine touchdowns for TCU in 2024 before making the jump to Conference-USA, where he dominated.

Cook led the nation in rushing this past season with 1,659 yards and 16 touchdowns. He also had 286 receiving yards.

Iowa State

247Sports: Isaac Terrell — Edge (Washington State), No. 434

On3: Isaac Terrell — Edge (Washington State), No. 124

The Cyclones had to move quickly when they lost Matt Campbell late in the coaching carousel to Penn State. Iowa State hired Washington State coach Jimmy Rogers who was able to bring a decorated edge rusher with him.

In the past three years at Wazzu, Terrell made 40 tackles, 13 tackles for loss and seven sacks.

TCU

247Sports: Noah McKinney — IOL (Oklahoma State), No. 162

On3: Noah McKinney — IOL (Oklahoma State), No. 121

Both of the conference’s purple schools have an Oklahoma State player as their highest-ranked transfer.

McKinney hit the portal following Mike Gundy’s firing and was an early addition to TCU’s portal class. He took part in 429 offensive snaps over the past three seasons for the Cowboys.

UCF

247Sports: Duke Watson — RB (Louisville), No. 305

On3: Duke Watson — RB (Louisville), No. 228

Watson ran for 755 yards and eight touchdowns on 6.5 yards per carry across the past two seasons with the Cardinals. His true freshman year was his best, as he ran for 597 yards and seven TDs in 2024.