In today's world of college basketball, the transfer portal has created a high volume of roster turnover on a year-in, year-out basis. Long gone are the days of teams across the country bringing back a significant percentage of their returning production. Sure it still happens, but now the overwhelming majority of teams are utilizing the portal in at least some capacity.
Darian DeVries and the Indiana Hoosiers have made some solid additions through the portal this offseason. Indiana's group of transfers is ranked as the No. 4 portal class in the country according to 247Sports, and Hoosier fans are starting to get their hopes up for a strong 2026-27 campaign.
But life in the Big Ten is never easy, and the top teams in the conference from last season are also restocking their rosters with transfer portal talent. Here are three of the most under the radar transfer additions in the Big Ten that Indiana basketball fans need to worry about next season.
C Moustapha Thiam, Michigan
The Michigan Wolverines are coming off a national title in Year 2 of the Dusty May era, and they are frontrunners to compete for another title in 2026-27. After building his championship roster through the portal, May has found three impact transfers so far this offseason. Among them is former Cincinnati center Moustapha Thiam, who could be a matchup nightmare for Big Ten opponents.
A true center, Thiam owns a 7'2" 250-pound frame. This past season as a sophomore with the Bearcats, he averaged 12.8 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game. At the time of his commitment to May and the Wolverines, Thiam was ranked as the No. 13 overall player and the No. 3 center in the portal via On3’s Transfer Portal Player Rankings.
With Aday Mara gone, Thiam figures to take on a leading role in Michigan's frontcourt next season. Rodney Knuppel of Busting Brackets states that there may not be a bigger upside swing in the portal than Thiam ending up in Ann Arbor, which is hard to argue.
G Stefan Vaaks, Illinois
Following Providence's move to fire head coach Kim English, Providence guard Stefan Vaaks deided to hit the portal. He garnered plenty of attention, and ultimately ended up in Champaign with Brad Underwood and the Illinois Fighting Illini.
Vaaks is coming off a sensational freshman season with the Friars. He averaged 15.8 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game en route to claiming Big East All-Freshman team honors. His arrival in Champaign continues Underwood's strategy of finding European players to don the blue and orange. It's been a successful tactic, as players like Andrej Stojakovic, David Mirkovic, Tomislav Ivisic, and Zvonimir Ivisic helped lead Illinois to a Final Four appearance this past season.
Vaaks could be the next man up. An elite scorer, the 6'7" guard put up 20 or more points in 10 games this season. His best performance of the campaign came in the first round of the Big East Tournament when he scored a season-high 28 points to lead the Friars to a win over Butler.
F Tomislav Buljan, Maryland
Buzz Williams has made some noise this offseason, and the addition of Tomislav Buljan is a solid one. The 6'9" 250-pound forward from Croatia averaged a double-double this past season as a true freshman at New Mexico. Specifically, he put up 13.1 points and 10.3 rebounds per game while also shooting a strong 54.0% from the floor.
Furthermore, he led the Mountain West in rebounding and double-doubles with 17. For his efforts, Buljan earned 2nd Team All-Mountain West honors. His arrival in College Park as a part of a talented portal class could have things looking up for Maryland after a 12-21 season that included a lousy 4-16 record in the Big Ten.
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