Portal Update – Basketball and Gymnastics Take Hits

When taking a look at DU’s major sports teams, the transfer portal has had a mixed impact. Basketball is undergoing the biggest transformation, and gymnastics has taken a big hit, losing its biggest star. Hockey and soccer remain stable, and it is a wait-and-see for lacrosse.

Just take a look at DU’s core sports of gymnastics, hockey, men’s soccer, and lacrosse, and you will see the current impact of the transfer portal on the University of Denver.

Men’s Basketball – March 24th – April 22nd (Closed)

During the basketball portal window, 2,544 student-athletes entered the portal.  DU center Isaiah Carr landed at Drake, point guard DeAndre Craig at Purdue Fort Wayne, center Abdulai Fanta Kabba at Western Carolina, guard Jon Mani at the University of Colorado, guard Nicholas Shogbonyo at Texas A&M- Corpus Christi, and guard Ben Bowen at (D2) Northern State.

Denver is left with returning guards Josh Lee, Devin Carney, and Loch Cunningham. Forwards Logan Kinsey, Corleone Dandridge, Carson Johnson, and Shaun Wysocki are coming to Denver from the University of Minnesota-Moorhead (DII,) following their new coaches. Gabe Oldham is coming to DU from Pima Community College (DII). Another DII product, guard Zane Wilson, is coming to DU from Missouri Western, and Julius Rollins (DI) from Western Illinois and Jerimiah Burke (DI) from North Dakota State. 

Early indications are that three of four incoming recruits who signed letters of intent (LOI) last year are heading in different directions due to the coaching change. Only Trajan Trajan Thompson has agreed to stay with the current Denver staff.  There are still open spots to be filled on next season’s roster.

Gymnastics Portal – Opened March 31-May 14th (Closed)

DU Gymnastics associate head coach Linas Gaveika, a key Melissa Kutcher-Rinehart lieutenant, announced his departure from the program along with assistant coach Stephen Hood. According to College Gym News, DU’s 19-year-old standout sophomore Madison Ulrich is shown entering the transfer portal, followed by visits to LSU, Oklahoma, and Utah. This marks the loss of DU’s most high-profile gymnast. Could the events be connected to the staff changes and/or NIL-related? Time will tell. Ulrich earned three individual All-American designations at the 2025 NCAA Championships.

Hockey Portal March 30th – May 13th (Closed)

Despite losing early departures Aidan Thompson and Jared Wright to the pros, Denver appears to be standing pat with their incoming  CHL-heavy freshman class – this is the first year in many decades that Canadian Major Junior players are eligible to play in the NCAA and David Carle is taking full advantage – after just one transfer portal departure. Goaltender Freddie Halyk will play for Brown next season. Forward Alex Weiermair, technically listed in the portal, left Denver in the middle of the 2024-25 season to sign with the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks and, at the moment, has not decided on a return to the NCAA.

NCHC peers Colorado College and Minnesota-Duluth have lost seven and nine players, respectively. Miami also lost seven players. Arizona State has six portal refugees. North Dakota has five exits.

Men’s Soccer November 25-December 24th (Closed)

Jamie Franks appears to be following the playbook employed by David Carle. According to Top Drawer Soccer, Denver appears to have retained all their eligible players, and they are not filling in gaps with portal transfers. That is not the case with many other programs stock piling portal transfers such as Eastern Illinois (11), Marshall (8), Coastal Carolina (6), Florida (6),  Michigan State (4), Indiana (4), Akron (4), St Louis (3) and South and UCLA (4) to name just a few.

Lacrosse Portal May 11th – June 9th (Open)

Denver has nine graduating seniors to include key contributors like Noah Manning, Casey Wilson, Jimmy Freehill, Mic Kelly, Jack Tortolani, and Malcolm Kleban. Look for Matt Brown and his coaching staff to tap the portal to fill the holes. If DU loses any key players, there is little time to replace players prior to the beginning of fall classes.