Often times, the casual college basketball fans overlook the talent beyond the Division I level. Personally, attending Northwest Missouri State, winners of four of the last six Division II national championships, I can attest to the fact there is high level basketball played at all levels. Whether it be current NBA players like Derrick White or Max Strus, or Northwest Missouri alum Ryan Hawkins, who earned All-Conference recognition in the Big East, there have been a significant amount of impactful DI players who started at the DII level. With the transfer portal more active than ever, this year is no exception. Out of the transfers who made the jump in competition this offseason, I ranked my top ten.

1. Jaylen Wells (Washington State via Sonoma State)

Washington State has been one of the best stories in college basketball this season. The Cougars, who are seemingly in their last season of being a High Major program, will go dancing for the first time since 2008. A big reason for that has been Sonoma State transfer Jaylen Wells. Wells, who leads the Pac-12 in offensive rating, got out to a slow start this year, going scoreless in his first three games. Now, Wells has scored in double figures in 16 of 17 games since the New Year, including 27 against both Arizona and UCLA. It’s not easy to recruit to Pullman, Washington, but Kyle Smith hit the nail on the head with the offensive consistency and efficiency of Wells.

2. Joel Scott (Colorado State via Black Hills State)

Joel Scott, similar to Wells, is an impact starter on a team that seems to be NCAA Tournament bound. This isn’t the first time Colorado State head coach Niko Medved jumped into the DII level, as he took Hillsdale transfer Patrick Cartier who has been a double digit scorer in two years with the Rams. Scott, holding down the paint for Colorado State, is also averaging double digit points, and is second on the team in rebounding. He has the highest offensive rating on the Rams, thanks to his efficient scoring around the rim and low turnover rate. Scott is playing his best basketball right now, with five straight games of 13 or more points. After being named the D2CCA Player of the Year, Scott has made a seamless transition to the Division I level, and will look to help the Rams make a March run.

3. Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones (UC San Diego via Hawai’i-Hilo)

It’s not hard to see why Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones was overlooked, being from New Zealand and playing at Hawai’i-Hilo. One person who didn’t overlook him was UC San Diego coach Eric Olen, who had plenty of DII experience himself, leading the Tritons into the DI transition recently. Nearly four months into the season, it’s clear Olen and UC San Diego got a real steal in Tait-Jones. He brings lots of versatility to this year’s Tritons’ team, being able to handle and facilitate on the perimeter, in addition to an efficient touch and skilled post moves inside. Tait-Jones displayed his skills right away, as in the first game of the season he was an assist away from a triple-double. The Tritons are having by far the best year of their short Division I lifetime and will be tournament eligible in 2024-25, with the opportunity to bring everyone back.

4. Rasheed Bello (Purdue-Fort Wayne via Wisconsin-Parkside)

Purdue-Fort Wayne had one of the highest percentage of returning minutes heading into the 2022-23 season, but this year head coach Jon Coffman had to find his impact pieces from the transfer portal. One of his additions was Wisconsin-Parkside point guard Rasheed Bello, who was the GLIAC Player of the Year as a sophomore. He’s translated his success up to the Division I level, averaging over 15 points and four assists per game. Bello has been an impactful player on both ends of the ball, as he was named to the Horizon All-Defense team, in addition to the All-Conference third team. The Mastodons open up the Horizon League tournament tonight, and Bello will look to lead their best team in over five years on a March run.

5. Drew Cisse (Western Illinois via Missouri-St. Louis)

At first glance, Drew Cisse’s 8.6 points per game doesn’t jump off the page. However, he gets his work done elsewhere, especially on the glass, averaging 11.1 rebounds per game and leading the NCAA in offensive rebounds. Cisse is also elite on the defensive end, averaging 2.0 blocks per game and recording 18 games this year with multiple rejections. He’s in the top 20 in multiple national leaderboards, including rebound percentage, defensive rating and defensive win shares. Despite not being a high usage scorer, he’s an efficient player around the rim when he needs to be. In year one of the Chad Boudreau era in Macomb, Cisse has been monumental towards a 13-5 conference record.

6. Tyler McGhie (UC San Diego via Southern Nazarene)

While this isn’t Tyler McGhie’s first experience at the DI level, formerly playing at Western Carolina, he spent the past two seasons in DII at Southern Nazarene, winning GAC Player of the Year last season. Because of his multiple transfers, he wasn’t supposed to be eligible. However, in late December, all multi-time transfers were made eligible, and McGhie fit right into the Tritons rotation. When he became eligible, UC San Diego ranked 221st in Kenpom. Now in early March, that rank has risen to 108th. McGhie has been elite from outside the arc, shooting over 40% from 3-point range on nearly eight attempts per game. With Tait-Jones and McGhie, along with starting point guard Hayden Gray, Eric Olen built a transfer class entirely out of DII, and it’s paying off.

7. Akuel Kot (Wyoming via Fort Lewis)

Going into the season I was incredibly high on Akuel Kot, and while he hasn’t quite reached my lofty expectations, the Fort Lewis transfer has been contributing in one of the best conferences in college basketball. Kot was a DII All-American last season, and he fit right into the DI level, scoring double figures in 20 of his first 21 games with Wyoming. He’s an extremely skilled shot creator, and has shown the ability to efficiently score from all three levels. The Cowboys have a pair of wins over Mountain West NCAA Tournament bound teams in Nevada and Colorado State, and Kot scored 20 and 18 in those games, respectively.

8. Blaise Threatt (Weber State via Colorado Mesa)

Like Kot, coming from the RMAC, incoming Weber State transfer Blaise Threatt has made a significant impact moving up a level. Due to Weber State having future NBA player Dillon Jones, Threatt isn’t asked to play the role he did while at Colorado Mesa. However, he’s proven to be a very efficient second option for the Wildcats. Threatt is averaging double figures, and could be in for a bigger role next season if Jones moves on. Weber State has been slightly disappointing overall this season, but still has a solid chance to advance to March Madness, and Threatt is a name you’ll want to remember if they make it there.

9. Jack Gohlke (Oakland via Hillsdale)

Oakland transfer Jack Gohlke, coming from DII Hillsdale, is about as one-dimensional of a player as you can be. On the season, he’s taken 296 3-pointers, and six 2-pointers. While Gohlke doesn’t do much outside of shoot, his long range abilities have been a crucial part of the Horizon League regular season champions. He was named sixth man of the year in the Horizon, and shot nearly 40% from deep in conference play. Nationwide, Gohlke is ranked second in both makes and attempts from behind the arc. He’s had eight games this season with five or more 3-pointers made, and he’ll look to add more to that list in March.

10. Chaney Johnson (Auburn via Alabama-Huntsville)

Auburn forward Chaney Johnson isn’t putting up the same statistical numbers as other players on this list, but it’s hard to overlook the fact that he’s been playing steady minutes for a Top 10 Kenpom ranked team. Johnson has gotten double digit minutes in all but three games this season, and averages over 15 minutes per game. He recently had his best game of the season, scoring 16 points in a win at Georgia, in his first start of the season. Johnson has translated up just fine defensively, as his athleticism is something that you don’t always see from DII transfers. Auburn is one of the better teams in the country, and Johnson, a significant bench piece, will look to help them make a deep March run.