Every player in college basketball is essentially a free agent after the season ends thanks to the transfer portal and the influx of NIL dollars pouring through the sport. The reality for players looking to cash in is that it’s in their best interest to enter the portal and go to either the highest bidder or the best situation. The lack of loyalty among coaches has been apparent for years as they’ve jumped from job-to-job for multi-million dollar bags. Now the players are doing it, too.
The 2025 transfer portal in men’s college basketball has been booming even before the end of the NCAA tournament. Legit stars like Yaxel Lendeborg (UAB to Michigan), Bennett Stirtz (Drake to Iowa), and Donovan Dent (New Mexico to UCLA) have already changed places. Another big name joined the transfer portal hours before the national championship game between Houston and Florida, and it might be the most surprising addition yet.
Robert Wright II was a standout freshman guard for Baylor this year. The 6’1 guard started 21 of 35 games for the Bears, and was a key figure in helping them reach the NCAA tournament. Wright shined in his March Madness debut, dropping 19 points in a win over Mississippi State. His next game was rougher in an eventual loss to Duke (11 points on 3-of-14 shooting), but he figured to be a staple for Baylor for years to come.
Wright put his name in the transfer portal on Monday, according to the sport’s insiders. ESPN’s Myron Medcalf reported that Baylor believed Wright was returning, and had turned down other guards in the portal with the belief that he would be on the roster.
Baylor guard Robert Wright, an all-Big 12 honorable mention this season and a member of the league’s all-freshman team, will enter the transfer portal, sources told ESPN. Wright averaged 11.5 PPG and 4.2 APG this season. The team had been under the impression that Wright had…
— Myron Medcalf (@MedcalfByESPN) April 7, 2025
Wright immediately becomes arguably the best guard in the portal alongside Princeton transfer Xaivian Lee. He’s already a proven performer in a major conference, and he still has three years of eligibility left while being a little too undersized for the NBA.
Wright was battle-tested even before he enrolled at Baylor after spending his senior year of high school playing for Florida powerhouse Montverde Academy. Montverde’s starting lineup included Cooper Flagg, as well as fellow NBA first-round picks picks in Maryland’s Derik Queen, UConn’s Liam McNeeley, and Georgia’s Asa Newell. Wright was a table-setter as a guard who could set up his teammates and hit an open jump shot.
Wright is a shifty guard off the dribble who can create a shot for himself and his teammates. He posted a solid 27 percent assist rate as a freshman, though he was often too loose with the ball under pressure (17 percent turnover rate). He shot 35 percent from three-point range on 86 attempts, and he made 80 percent of his free throws. Wright did well to create rim opportunities off the bounce, with only 20 percent of his rim attempts being assisted by teammates. He still struggles to finish over length, making only 54 percent of his layups and not recording a dunk.
Wright isn’t an immediate program savior, but he’s a solid lead guard who will keep getting better. Guard play is so important in March, and Wright has already shown he can dominate an NCAA tournament game. He’s going to be one of the better college guards going forward, and Baylor thought he’d be a program pillar. Baylor won the 2021 national championship and has been keeping it rolling under head coach Scott Drew. This is a brutal blow.
Baylor is disappointed to lose him, but remember this can go both ways. College programs often recruit over the players already on their roster. Now players are flexing that same power. The transfer portal closes on April 22. Until then, no roster is safe.
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