Kyan Evans dribbled a basketball through his legs and behind his back. A defender stood in front of the 6-foot, 2-inch point guard from Kansas City. In an instant, the 2023 Staley High School (Kansas City) graduate rose up and let the ball fly from well beyond the 3-point line. The ball went through the rim and touched nothing but the bottom of the net.

Swooosh.

The shot wasn’t the only one Evans made Sunday during an open run — a series of pickup games the young hoops junkie organized at Staley. But the successful three-point field goal was a reminder of why Evans was one of the most sought after transfers in college basketball this past spring.

In today’s landscape of college sports, young players like Evans can now benefit from their name, image and likeness (referred to as NIL) and transfer schools without sitting out for a year. In a multibillion-dollar industry such as college sports, I am a proponent of players getting a piece of the proverbial pie.

Still, as with anything, the transfer portal offered no guarantees, which can be stressful for a young person like Evans, his father Steve Evans said.

Steve described the transfer portal as uncharted territory for the entire family, which includes Steve’s wife Stacey and their oldest son Kaden, 26.+

Sidenote: Years ago, Kaden and my oldest son General Williams were teammates on the Kansas City Keys club team. Steve was one of the coaches.

“We heard from every coach in the country,” Steve said. “It was literally that crazy. We had no idea how much he was worth until it came up. It’s hard to navigate. You really don’t know how to navigate it.”

Kyan’s ability to make shots landed him a seven-figure payday with North Carolina, one of the country’s most renowned basketball programs. The Tar Heels won three national championships under former Kansas coach Roy Williams.

Kyan Evans’ basketball stock skyrockets

Last season, as a sophomore at Colorado State University, Kyan shot an astounding 44.6% from 3-point range, making him one of the top 3-point shooters in the Mountain West Conference, according to the website 24/7 Sports. In March, Evans caught the attention of basketball fans across the country after he scored 23 points and knocked down six 3-point shots during an NCAA tournament game against Memphis.

After that March Madness game against Memphis, Evans’ stock skyrocketed.

One day after CSU lost on a last second shot to Maryland in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, then- head coach Niko Medved left to take the same job at Minnesota. That move opened the door for Kyan to explore his options, Steve said.

On March 29, Kyan officially entered the NCAA transfer portal — essentially college basketball’s version of free agency — and an intense bidding war for his services ensued. The experience was nothing like Kyan had ever gone through, he said. But after the first day in the portal, he learned he could command and receive a substantial amount of money to play college basketball at one of the most storied programs in America.

When Evans committed to play basketball at North Carolina in April, he became an instant millionaire: He reportedly secured a compensation package worth $2 million, according to several media outlets.

The decision to attend North Carolina concluded a 10-day whirlwind journey Kyan described as stressful. He still had to attend classes at CSU and work on his craft while being inundated with call after call. Before he committed, other suitors including Kansas, Missouri and Minnesota and other high profile schools, all clamored for his talent. Representatives from each school called with different sales pitches, Kyan said.

“It’s crazy,” he said. “The first day, you put your name in there but you don’t know what’s going to happen. You don’t know who will hit you up. You just hope for the best.”

Both Kyan and his father Steve agreed that exploring the transfer portal and negotiating NIL packages were not easy tasks. Kyan said he was fortunate to have the help of his agent Reggie Brown of Priority Sports who did most of the bidding on Kyan’s behalf.

On Sunday, in between pickup games at Staley, Kyan offered insight on how the NIL process and the transfer portal operates.

‘Calls from all sorts of coaches’

Once he entered the portal, “the phone just started dinging,” Evans said. “I started getting calls from all sorts of coaches. Luckily, I had an agent. I got with him and he was able to help me out with that process.”

Evans said he fielded too many calls to recount and the process included more than a fair share of virtual meetings. He added he did not take one physical visit to the schools that were interested in him.

“It was just a lot of phone calls and a lot of Zoom meetings trying to figure things out,” he said. “I just rolled with North Carolina and (head coach) Hubert Davis.”

What is the transfer portal?

The NCAA transfer portal is a private database used by college athletes to express their interest in transferring schools. Nearly 2,700 basketball players entered the portal before its April 22 deadline this year, according to ESPN. Not all of them come away with such a sweet deal as Evans.

“Ky didn’t plan on going into the portal,” Steve Evans said. “We went into the NCAA tournament and he played really well against Memphis and everybody saw him. When the head coach left, we were in limbo. For Ky, I told him to try the portal. I said, ‘Hey man, you have to look at your opportunities.’ I had no idea what we were in for.”

As a freshman at CSU, Kyan played in 36 games off the bench. The next year, he started every game for the Rams, a mid-major program that made two NCAA Tournament appearances while Kyan was there.

UNC is considered a college basketball blueblood along the likes of Kansas and Kentucky. Landing in Chapel Hill was a pretty big deal for a quiet, unassuming kid from the Northland that only received interest from schools such as UMKC and CSU coming out of high school.

“We didn’t even visit UNC,” Steve said. “They told us what he was going to make and we were like, OK.”

‘Pied piper of KC’

At Staley, Kyan played on four conference and district championship teams, won a Class 6 state title in 2023 and was named the 2023 Boys Missouri Gatorade Player of the Year. The same year, he won the DiRenna Award as the top boys basketball player in the Kansas City metropolitan area.

His head coach at Staley, Chris Neff, told Inside Carolina, a 24/7 Sports website dedicated to UNC sports, that organizing open runs such as the one I attended weren’t new.

In fact, Kyan has a reputation for bringing together talented basketball players from all over the metropolitan area for pickup games, according to Neff.

“He’s a pied piper of Kansas City high school basketball,” Neff told Inside Carolina. “He’s connected to every single basketball player in Kansas City, both on the Missouri and Kansas side. And everyone wants to be at the runs he’s at because, generally, you’re going to have an unbelievable time. And he’s going to talk the games into being competitive because he’s just got a voice and a presence.”

After older brother Kaden’s team of five sent Kyan’s squad to the sideline with a loss on Sunday, I asked Kyan what advice he would have for basketball players considering entering the transfer portal or negotiating NIL packages. Don’t make the decision solely based on money but know your worth, he said.

“Have a plan with your money,” Kyan said. “My dad actually helps me with mine. He kinda helps me navigate the money and understand that you’re young, you have some wealth but you want to be able to sustain that. I would say that’s probably the most important part.”

Kyan then shared a piece of wisdom we all could learn from.

“I wouldn’t put the money first initially,” he said. “Just wait, keep grinding and the money will come to you.”

Toriano Porter is an opinion writer for McClatchy and the Kansas City Star.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama Football former Heisman Trophy winner and NFL superstar Derrick Henry has personally committed to funding the Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) contracts for the University of Alabama’s entire roster of walk-on football players for the 2025 season.

The historic move, announced Tuesday through Henry’s “King Henry’s Decree” foundation, ensures that every non-scholarship player—the unsung heroes who toil in practice daily for the love of the game—will receive meaningful financial compensation for their commitment. This act single-handedly redefines how superstar alumni can impact their programs in the NIL era, shifting the focus from individual enrichment to collective team support.

Henry, renowned for his punishing running style on the field and his quiet humility off it, explained that the decision was rooted in his appreciation for the teammates who helped pave his own path to glory.

“Championships are built by every single person in the locker room, not just the guys you see on TV,” Henry stated in a release from his foundation. “I remember the scout team guys who gave us their all every single day in practice. They bleed crimson just like everyone else. A scholarship doesn’t define your value to the team. This is about recognizing their sacrifice and telling them they are seen, they are valued, and they are a critical part of this program’s success.”

The financial details were not fully disclosed, but the commitment is expected to provide each of the several dozen walk-on players with a monthly stipend that will significantly ease the financial burden of being a full-time student and athlete. For many, it means not having to work a part-time job and being able to fully dedicate themselves to their studies and to the team.

The news was met with an emotional and overwhelmingly positive response from the Alabama program. Head Coach Kalen DeBoer, who was reportedly notified by Henry last week, praised the running back’s character and leadership.

“Derrick Henry’s legacy at Alabama was already set in stone, but this elevates it to a whole new level,” Coach DeBoer said. “This is one of the most selfless acts I have ever seen in sports. It sends a powerful message to our team about what it means to be an Alabama man. It’s about brotherhood, sacrifice, and lifting up those around you. The impact on our team’s culture and morale is immeasurable.”

While multi-million dollar NIL deals for star quarterbacks and skill players have become commonplace, walk-ons have largely been left out of the financial boom. They pay their own tuition and often struggle to make ends meet while facing the same grueling demands as their scholarship teammates.

One senior walk-on, who wished to remain anonymous, described the players’ reaction as “pure disbelief and gratitude.”

“We do this because we love Bama football, and we never expect anything for it,” he said. “To have a legend like Derrick Henry—the king—do this for us is life-changing. It’s not just the money. It’s knowing that someone who has reached the absolute pinnacle of the sport recognizes our work. It makes you want to run through a brick wall for this team.”

Henry’s decree sets a new philanthropic standard in college sports, proving that NIL can be a tool not just for individual gain, but for fostering unity and rewarding the heart and soul of a team.”

CBS Sports released its preseason AP Poll Top 25 predictions ahead of the 2025 college football season. We are this close to real football!

This won’t be an exact ranking of all 25 teams in the poll, barring something unforeseen. If that’s the case, anyone who predicts this exactly right should play the lottery!

Without further ado, let’s dive into the predicted AP Poll Top 25 from CBS Sports. We start at the top!

CBS Sports has Texas as the No. 1 team in their AP Poll predictions. It’s easy to see why. Steve Sarkisian at coach, Arch Manning at QB, a collection of characters that have developed, and more.

The natural progression of Texas is to finally win it all again, for the first time in 20 years anyway. After two CFP semifinal appearances, it’s a national title or bust for this squad.

The Buckeyes will be high up in the AP Poll to start the season considering they just won the whole darn thing last year. Julian Sayin is likely to step in at quarterback as he looks to pilot a loaded offense.

The defense is led by DB Caleb Downs while WR Jeremiah Smith is a Heisman contender, helping out the aforementioned Sayin. Ryan Day just has to get the Michigan monkey off his back this year, but this is one of the best teams in the country.

Speaking of teams in the AP Poll that are in the national title race, Penn State is running it back from 2024. Drew Allar is back at QB, along with Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen at running back.

James Franklin is under pressure to certainly deliver this season. He entrusted former Ohio State DC Jim Knowles with that unit, which includes star DL Dani Dennis-Sutton.

Kirby Smart and Georgia are quietly going about their business this season. But, the AP Poll will likely have them in the top five by Monday.

Gunner Stockton steps in at QB with a full offseason under his belt. Going into the fall, Georgia should be in the SEC race to repeat as conference champs and set up for a CFP run.

Clemson returned to form under Dabo Swinney last season, winning the ACC and making the College Football Playoff. The AP Poll is likely to rank them high to start the year.

Cade Klubnik is back at QB after a career season and should get some Heisman love. Peter Woods and TJ Parker highlight a loaded front-seven for the Tigers on defense.

Marcus Freeman just led the Fighting Irish to the national championship, but fell short. Still, they are expected to be in the top 10 of the AP Poll.

Jeremiyah Love is back at RB and should get Heisman consideration. With another loaded defense, this team is certainly going to be a tough out.

The Ducks looked like they could run through the bracket at one point last year. But Oregon went 13-0, won the Big Ten and immediately lost a rematch to Ohio State in the CFP quarterfinals.

Dan Lanning and crew should be a top 10 team at minimum in the AP Poll Monday. How high they climb is anyone’s guess in a top heavy conference this season.

Kalen DeBoer enters Year 2 at Alabama with high expectations and some pressure. Making the College Football Playoff is the requirement in 2025.

Ty Simpson is projected to take over at QB and will be helped by star sophomore WR Ryan Williams. As far as the AP Poll is concerned, the Crimson Tide should firmly be in the top 10, albeit towards the bottom half of the top tier.

The Tigers and Brian Kelly are in Year 4 together, but there are expectations to win the SEC and get to the CFP. This team certainly could end up putting it together, judging by an AP Poll prediction in the top 10.

Garrett Nussmeier enters the 2025 season as one of the best quarterbacks in college football. Harold Perkins, if he returns to form, should be one of the more feared linebackers in the country.

The time is now for Miami and Mario Cristobal. They played with fire last season and ended up paying the price down the stretch.

Still, as a predicted top 10 team in the AP Poll, the Hurricanes will be in the running for the ACC and a CFP spot. Former Georgia QB Carson Beck takes over for No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward.

CBS Sports predicts AP Poll Top 25

11. Illinois
12. South Carolina
13. Arizona State
14. Michigan
15. Florida
16. Ole Miss
17. SMU
18. Tennessee
19. Indiana
20. Texas Tech
21. Texas A&M
22. Kansas State
23. Iowa State
24. Boise State
25. Oklahoma

5 College Football Breakthrough Teams to Watch in 2025 originally appeared on College Football News.

Indiana, SMU, and Arizona State were big surprises last year, but will they have staying power? Will they be in their respective conference races for the foreseeable future?

Which teams might not just surprise a wee bit, but appear to have the upside and infrastructure to be consistent players?

Think Illinois and Navy of last year, Colorado of two years ago, and Louisville when Jeff Brohm took over. 

Which programs have the upside to be steadily above-average going forward?

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College Football 2025: 5 Teams Ready for a Breakthrough Season

5. Houston

– Houston 2025 Preview

Willie Fritz needed a year to put things in place. Houston was a 12-win team in 2021, slid downhill for a few seasons, and now it should be far stronger with an offense that should start to produce.

If the team could’ve scored 21 points in every game last season, it would’ve gone 7-5 instead of 4-8. The D is fine, the O is better, and the schedule helps.

Stephen F. Austin, at Rice, Colorado, at Oregon State. There’s a real shot to match last year’s win total before October, and then comes …

– CFN Preview 2025

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4. Texas Tech

– Texas Tech 2025 Preview

This might be the most fascinating team going into the 2025 season.

It was going to be fine, and then the portal kicked in hard with one of the best hauls of transfers of any program in the nation. 

Head coach Joey McGuire has done a great job in his first three years of making Texas Tech good, but with a very favorable home schedule and with a deep and loaded roster, this is when the staying power under McGuire is solidified.

3. Georgia Tech

– Georgia Tech 2025 Preview

After two straight 7-5 seasons under Brent Key, the Yellow Jackets return a ton of talent, a great veteran quarterback in Haynes King, and the experience and big wins to expect more.

The program hasn’t won more than seven games in a season since 2016, but with a schedule that should help with a base of winnable games out of Gardner-Webb, at Colorado, Temple, at Wake Forest, Syracuse, at Duke, at Boston College, and Pitt.

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2. Illinois

– Illinois 2025 Preview

It all should work, and Illinois should finally have that second straight big season that shows just how good the program can be, but …

It should be Missouri. It should be Wisconsin – back when it was good at football. It should be good enough in that region of the country to be an annual problem for everyone else, but it hasn’t always worked out.

The 2001 team went to the Sugar Bowl. The program won 13 games over the next five years. 

The 2007 team went to the Rose Bowl. Next year, Illinois went 5-7.

There’s a chance Bret Bielema becomes the first Illinois head coach to own two double-digit win seasons. His 2025 team is just that good.

(And there’s no Penn State, Michigan, or Oregon to face.)

1. USF

– USF Team Preview

This feels like the 29th straight season of expecting USF to bust through and be a consistent national factor, but this year’s team might be it.

Alex Golesh put up two straight 7-6 seasons after taking over a program that won a total of eight games in the previous four years, but it wasn’t all that long ago that USF won 11 games under Willie Taggart in 2016, and then ten more under Charlie Strong a year later.  

The Bulls are loaded with returning veterans, the last two years built up to this point, and if they can get past a brutal start – Boise State, at Florida, and at Miami – they should rip through the rest of the slate. They should get to eight wins or more for the first time since 2017.

Related: 5 College Football Teams Headed For a Letdown in 2025

This story was originally reported by College Football News on Aug 10, 2025, where it first appeared.

The start of the college football season is officially right around the corner when the AP Top 25 poll drops. It will do so on Monday.

Ahead of the big reveal, On3 has taken a stab at projecting the initial AP Top 25 rankings. We’ve included the full projection, tabbing the 25 teams we think the Associated Press will deem worthy of being ranked.

So without wasting any time, let’s get into it. Who is the projected No. 1 team in this year’s preseason AP poll?

Arguably no team in America has a quarterback as hyped as Arch Manning. He’s been waiting in the wings for two years, and now it’s his team. He’s got ample weapons to work with, too, on a clear preseason top 25 squad.

Quintrevion Wisner is a monster at running back, having already proven what he can do. Ryan Wingo will help anchor a receiving corps that includes some major new talent, including Five-Star Plus+ freshman Kaliq Lockett. The schedule is once again quite tough, though, starting with the opener against Ohio State.

Penn State has a returning starter at quarterback. Drew Allar wasn’t asked to do a ton for most of last year, but he slowly came into his own and was playing really good football by year’s end.

From top to bottom, Penn State might have the most talented roster in the country. There are still question marks about the quality of the receivers, but that might be the only real iffy spot on the roster.

Georgia lost a talented starting quarterback from the 2024 squad, with Carson Beck taking off for Miami. Gunner Stockton, who filled in for Beck due to injury in the College Football Playoffs, will take over the reins for the preseason top 25 contender.

Kirby Smart‘s recruiting over the years will, of course, always have Georgia competitive. Can the Bulldogs manage a schedule that includes games against both Alabama and Texas, as well as Ole Miss, Tennessee and Florida?

With a quarterback battle ongoing, it’s not entirely clear who will lead Ohio State out against Texas in Week 1. Whoever it is will have the luxury of working with Jeremiah Smith, arguably the best skill position player in the game, as well as an excellent supporting cast.

The Buckeyes also have talent all over the field on the opposite side, with Caleb Downs leading what should once again be a loaded defense. The good news, schedule-wise? Ohio State avoids Oregon this year.

There’s a common theme with much of the Top 10 going into the year. Most of the teams have a good returning quarterback. That’s certainly the case at Clemson, where the Tigers have Cade Klubnik back and more confident than ever.

But the Tigers are also loaded along the defensive front, potentially as talented as they’ve been there in years. The schedule starts off with a bang — a Top-10 LSU team is coming to town — so we’ll learn about how ready Clemson is in a hurry.

When you’ve got a weapon like Jeremiyah Love in the backfield, you have a chance to have a special offense. The Fighting Irish have to figure out the quarterback position after losing Riley Leonard, but that gets easier to do with a workhorse back.

The schedule might be the tricky part to navigate. Notre Dame takes on Miami and Arkansas on the road, as well as Texas A&M and USC at home. There are a handful of other potential stumbling blocks, but the four aforementioned are likely the biggest hurdles.

Jalen Milroe is gone, so Alabama will probably be much closer to Kalen DeBoer‘s ideal offense in 2025. But that’s some elite playmaking lost. Milroe ran for 20 touchdowns a year ago and that’s never easy to replace.

Still, the Crimson Tide have an abundance of talent. The schedule is difficult but not outrageous, with road trips to Georgia and South Carolina and a home date with LSU the toughest outs.

Oregon replaces starting quarterback Dillon Gabriel but has former Five-Star Plus+ prospect Dante Moore waiting in the wings. The rest of the offensive cast is loaded with talent, even after losing a couple star skill players to the NFL.

The Ducks also really lucked out on the schedule. Not only do they avoid the Buckeyes, but they also don’t take on Michigan this fall. A road trip to Penn State will be brutal, but every other game on the schedule looks like it will have Oregon favored, a surefire sign of a Top 25 team.

The Tigers have a Heisman-caliber quarterback returning in Garrett Nussmeier, and he’ll be counted on to lead Brian Kelly‘s squad out of the perennial 9- to 10-win range and into the Playoffs. He’s good enough to get that done.

As noted with Clemson, the start of the season will tell us a lot. That season opener could provide a lot of confidence for the team going forward… or it could create a wave of noise for Kelly and company to deal with.

Cam Ward is gone and replacing the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft won’t be easy. But you can’t do much better in terms of landing a high-profile guy than Carson Beck. Beck has settled in nicely early in fall camp, throwing again after his season-ending injury in 2024.

Mario Cristobal has clearly elevated the talent on the roster at Miami and there’s been tangible year-over-year improvement. Can the Hurricanes put it all together and avoid the mental slip-ups that cost them key games last year?

Rest of the Projected AP Top 25: 11-25

11. Illinois Fighting Illini
12. Arizona State Sun Devils
13. Michigan Wolverines
14. South Carolina Gamecocks
15. Kansas State Wildcats
16. Florida Gators
17. SMU Mustangs
18. Ole Miss Rebels
19. Tennessee Volunteers
20. Oklahoma Sooners
21. Texas Tech Red Raiders
22. Texas A&M Aggies
23. Indiana Hoosiers
24. Iowa State Cyclones
25. Louisville Cardinals