Florida State basketball is undergoing massive changes across the board.

Not only will a new coach be leading the Seminoles for the first time in 23 years but, in the day and age of the transfer portal, NIL, and yearly roster turnover, FSU is undergoing a massive roster overhaul.

“There will be a lot of guys that hit the portal, and that shouldn’t scare anyone. That’s by design, both for these players and myself,” Loucks told reporters during his second interview since becoming Florida State men’s basketball coach.

This article will be updated throughout the off-season, tracking player movements and who will be part of Loucks’ first team in Tallahassee.

FSU basketball offseason roster changes: Departures

Transfer portal

Eligibility

Transfer portal additions

Returning players

• Guard/forward AJ Swinton
• Forward Alier Maluk

High school recruits:

The broader NIL upheaval was sparked locally when Tennessee QB Nico Iamaleava’s camp reportedly sought to renegotiate his $2.4 million deal to roughly $4 million, leading to a public standoff, his exit to the transfer portal, and subsequent NCAA inquiries into Vols’ NIL practices.

This drama dominated every college football media outlet, and analysts called for increased oversight. Now, with this huge announcement, things might finally change.

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Nick Shultz of On3 wrote in a report published Friday that, “After meeting with former Alabama coach Nick Saban this week, President Donald Trump is considering an executive order “that could increase scrutiny” of NIL payments and the future of college athletics, the Wall Street Journal reported. Saban introduced Trump ahead of Thursday’s commencement address in Tuscaloosa.”

On Friday, the NCAA’s Division I Board of Directors conditionally approved a sweeping House v. NCAA settlement that, pending final court sign-off, would permit schools to pay up to $20.5 million in direct revenue‐share benefits to athletes and eliminate scholarship limits in favor of roster limits, changes set to take effect this summer.

Simultaneously, President Donald Trump, fresh from meeting former Alabama coach Nick Saban Thursday night, is reportedly considering an executive order “to regulate NIL deals” and create “national legislation” to standardize athlete compensation, an intervention urged by Saban.

When the NBA announced its initial early entrant list for the 2025 NBA draft, there were just 106 names on that list. As Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic writes, that’s the lowest total since 91 players declared early in 2015, which was the last year before college players were granted permission to test the draft waters while maintaining their NCAA eligibility.

According to Vorkunov, a handful of factors contributed to the major drop-off in early entrants this season, but the money now available to college players is easily the No. 1 factor. Prospects increasingly have opportunities to earn higher “salaries” playing college basketball than they would if they were a second-round pick in the NBA, Vorkunov points out.

The name, image, and likeness (NIL) money available to NCAA players isn’t just reducing the number of American-born players entering the draft. As Vorkunov details, international prospects have also become increasingly inclined to leave top teams and developmental programs in Europe in order to play college basketball, lowering the number of international early entrants.

Here’s more on the 2025 NBA draft:

• Sam Vecenie of The Athletic has published a new mock draft ahead of this year’s lottery and combine, with Texas wing Tre Johnson among his big risers — the No. 7 pick in Vecenie’s March mock draft, Johnson moves up to No. 3 this time around, with Ace Bailey slipping to No. 5. Arizona’s Carter Bryant is among the other notable risers on Vecenie’s board, moving up to No. 9 after coming in at No. 23 in his previous mock draft. According to Vecenie, Bryant has a “ton of juice when you talk to front offices” and has moved into the No. 7 to No. 16 range of the draft.
• Although Cooper Flagg is considered a high-end talent at No. 1 overall and Dylan Harper looks locked in at No. 2, teams around the NBA have “real questions” about the average value of this year’s draft class starting at No. 3, Vecenie notes within that new mock draft. While there are solid prospects to be had in the middle of the lottery and into the teens, those players come with significantly more question marks, so the results of the lottery will be especially important for teams seeking a cornerstone player, Vecenie explains.
• According to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony (Twitter link), all 75 prospects invited to this month’s NBA combine in Chicago are among the top 100 players on ESPN’s big board. ESPN’s top 56 prospects all made the cut, with No. 57 Mouhamed Faye of Reggio Emilia representing the site’s highest-ranked player who didn’t get a combine invite. Kentucky’s Amari Williams (No. 58) and Malique Lewis of South East Melbourne (No. 59) are the others in ESPN’s top 60 who weren’t invited to the event.

Tomlinson comes to Muncie after two seasons as an assistant coach with the University of Indianapolis women’s soccer team.

The Gainsborough, England native was a graduate assistant for the UIndy men’s team for the 2021 and 2022 seasons after graduating from Holy Cross College where he was the starting goalkeeper. He made 43 starts in 51 matches played with 140 saves and an overall record of 19-18-3 from 2017-19.

Tomlinson has served as the director of goalkeeping for FC Pride since 2022 and also assisted with the Michiana Echo club when he played at Holy Cross.

Dennis joins the team after a season as an assistant coach at Saint Francis, where she coached a pair of NEC All-Conference players, and a decorated playing career as a defender at the University of South Florida from 2017-21.

The Sunrise, Fla., native was the head coach for the Plantation Eagles FC for two years before going to Saint Francis in February of 2024. She also had stints as the head coach at Florida Premier FC and an assistant coach for Tampa Bay United.

Dennis played professionally for Afturelding FC and was a part of the Jamaica Women’s National Team from 2017 to 2022. She was an AAC First Team All-Conference pick, AAC Co-Defensive Player of the Year and United Soccer Coaches All-Region First Team selection during her collegiate career.

“I am excited to welcome Chyanne and Lewis to Ball State! They both represent the type of character and passion I was looking for,” Stoots said. “I know our student-athletes will greatly benefit from their leadership, soccer knowledge and their commitment to growth and development.”

Millis stays in Muncie after a four-year playing career when she started in 60 out of 71 games played as a defender from 2017-21. She had eight assists and played in more than 5,000 minutes in her career at Ball State.

The Livonia, Mich., native was named to the Academic All-MAC Team and Academic All-District by the College Sports Communicators multiple times and is set to graduate Saturday with a degree in strategic communications (advertising).

 

Levelle Moton is a good coach and by all accounts, a good man too. He’s been at NCCU since 2009 and has had some brilliant stretches. He could have taken a better job any number of times, but he’s coaching at his alma mater and clearly loves it there.

Moton has some strong thoughts on how college basketball has changed in the era of NIL and the transfer portal and how that has affected schools farther down the food chain.

Check out what he said on Run Your Race podcast, as quoted in the article linked above:

“The person that you thought you could trust, you can’t trust. Everybody’s in it just for the money. The most important thing during that time was, I learned it’s no honor among thieves.

“Now you fast forward and you looking at this NCAA business, and everybody’s chasing it, and it’s no more morals, it’s no more values, it’s no more.”

For Power Conferences like the ACC, SEC, Big Ten and Big 12 and Big East schools, it’s not a big deal because the talent moves upwards. Schools farther down the line have to identify players and try to develop them, and now, as soon as they do that, the players transfer up.

It must be unbelievably frustrating for coaches like Moton. Understandably, he’d like to see some reforms to the reforms.

He goes on to point out that if you keep transferring, you won’t get enough credits to graduate, and once you’re out of eligibility, the schools are no longer obliged to pay for your education, which kind of undercuts the whole point of college sports.

As the article goes on to point out, up to 40 percent of players go into the portal now. A lot of these players are going to find that they lost their old spot and don’t have a new one.

These are solvable problems, whether it’s the NCAA, Congress or the schools themselves and they should be solved. Some of the players are getting good money and some are graduating. But it’s possible that some are more exploited than they were in the old system.

Is it possible to completely separate the product (basketball) and education?

Conceivably, but it might end up entirely destroying the college game. It’s a lot more engaging for fans if actual students are playing, however you structure it.

If it does end up with a total separation, it’s hard to see how college ball competes with the NBA which isn’t doing particularly well at the moment anyway.

However you look at it, the game has changed dramatically, suddenly and with little planning. It’s no way to run a railroad. Former Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski has long called for a commissioner or something along those lines. That may or may not work, but strong if not visionary leadership is definitely needed.