The transfer portal is open, and the exodus from UConn is continuing. As of Saturday morning, 25 Huskies are in the portal, including most of their starters with eligibility remaining.
None of this is new or unusual. There are already more than 1,000 players in the portal, with more to come. Many players do this to field offers and gauge their worth, even if they prefer to remain where they are.
In UConn’s case, with new coach Jason Candle filling out his staff, the roster will require a large makeover. Candle, who had 10 winning seasons in a row at Toledo, built his teams largely through conventional high school recruiting and player development. At UConn, where he had hired some veteran assistants from power conferences, he will have to use the portal to keep the program in position to continue its current success.
His predecessor, Jim Mora, used the portal extensively to rebuild the Huskies, especially after his 3-9 season in 2023. UConn has finished 9-4 each of the last two seasons.
Since Mora left, quarterbacks Nick Evers and Tucker McDonald, running backs Cam Edwards, Mel Brown, MJ Flowers, and Victor Rosa, tight ends Alex Honig, Dominic Toy and Juice Vereen and receivers John Neider, Shamar Porter, Jackson Harper, Makih Johnson, linemen Ben Murawski, Brady Wayburn, Toriyan Johnson, Carsten Casady are among the offensive players headed out.
Some have already taken visits. Some, especially Edwards, Neider and Harper, who are from Connecticut, could be open to returning to UConn.
On defense, linebacker Ourmar Diomande, defensive backs Lee Molette III, Cam Chadwick, Osiris Gilbert, Kolubah Pewee and Chris Hudson, linemen Stephon Wright, Vincent Carroll-Jackson.
This is in addition to players who are out of eligibility and/or intending to turn pro, like quarterback Joe Fagnano, receiver Skyler Bell and linebacker Bryun Parham.
Mora, at Colorado State, offensive coordinator Gordon Sammis, now at TCU, and defensive coordinator Matt Brock, at Mississippi State, could be interested in some of the players they coached at UConn.
Moving in the other direction, there are 22 players from Toledo now in the portal, and that number is rising  fast; nine entering on Jan. 2. Candle has already flipped several of his incoming recruits, notably quarterback Bo Polston from Indianapolis. So the Huskies in 2026 could be an East Coast incarnation of the Rockets.
One player has transferred to UConn, tight end Alex Godavitarne, who has caught 24 passes in 21 games the past two seasons for Division II Wheeling University in West Virginia.