In recent years, college sports have changed drastically.
The transfer portal was made available to athletes in 2018 and then in 2021, it was offered with no penalty. Players started to begin transferring from schools in order to find success and different places to play.
“It has changed recruiting completely and has taken away some opportunities for high school kids which I don’t like,” BYU softball coach Gordon Eakin said. “I don’t know if the ship will balance out but about 40% of our recruiting now is from the transfer portal.”
This has given college athletes more opportunities. If they don’t end up fitting the way they want to with their school, or find they need something else, they can transfer to find what they are looking for. Schools from around the country are watching the portal and wanting to find players to fit with their team — to improve.
“There were no bad feelings with Utah,” said BYU senior pitcher Jaden Harris, a former Ute. “I just knew at BYU they could help me improve the things that I wanted to and help me get to where I wanted to be.”
With this new addition to college sports it changes the landscape of how coaches and players operate. Bringing in new talent that has experience in the Division I play is much more similar to the professional leagues trading and signing free agents. Coaching can play a huge role because it can determine the destinations of these highly coveted players.
“I knew that I wanted to go to BYU when I entered the portal,” senior tennis player Zach Fuchs said. “Entering the portal, it is tough talking to your coach and having those conversations but ultimately it’s for the best. It has been an easy change with both coach Dave Porter and coach Zack Warren here at BYU.”
For both Harris and Fuchs, they transferred within the conference at the time of their transfer — Fuchs from Gonzaga when BYU was in the WCC and Harris from Utah as both schools joined the Big 12 this past year.
A tough change could be had going from a rival school like these into a school you have channeled a lot of hate towards. For these athletes it was not the case.
“Coming from the University of Utah and having been a fan of them, it felt a little weird to transfer to BYU,” Harris said. “It hasn’t been at all and now when I look at that game against Utah on our schedule it’s just like last year but flipped, I want nothing more than to beat up on the Utes.”
BYU represents an interesting prospect in the transfer portal. There are many extra rules and standards — an honor code — that have to be lived and it is not necessarily the “classic” college experience.
At times this could seem like an obstacle seeing as many college kids outside The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints don’t have a lot of interest there. It is also a wholesome great environment focused on the people there and it can in another way be a very attractive place for athletes.
“If someone is not looking for what we represent it is difficult to convince them that this is the right place,” Eakin said. “But also we have some recruits that are looking for what we offer so I believe it can work for us.”
The portal can bring in talent that plays a role for each team. It can also determine the future for a team when very notable players enter the portal.
For example, the University of Oregon’s football team have had two back-to-back transfers lead their team as a quarterback. Bo Nix transferred from Auburn and when he moved on to the NFL the Ducks replaced him with another transfer, Dillon Gabriel who came from Oklahoma. Now instead of having to roll the dice on a new player, they got a viable Heisman candidate for their team.
BYU offers a very interesting place to these high-level recruits in all sports. In many ways it is not the stereotypical Oregon that is highly sought after, however, it is clear there is coaching and culture that have attracted great talent.
This includes people from years' past like Puka and Samson Nacua. It also includes athletes still playing, like Fuchs, who has become a highly ranked pair reaching No. 11 in the nation with his transfer partner Wally Thayne. It also includes players of the future like Harris, who has yet to play a season at BYU but has had success in his pitching career at Utah.
The change in the atmosphere of college sports is evident. With the opportunity the transfer portal has provided, and will continue to provide, it has had an impact on BYU athletics everywhere.
No matter what happens in the future it is clear that, because of the portal, it will never be the same.