Welcome back to the transfer portal team of the week! We took a few weeks off after the end of the football season, but with basketball in full swing, it’s time to get going on the hardwood. The Mountain West is roughly halfway through their regular season, so to catch us up, here are the top 15 transfers in the conference this year so far!
The format will be a little different than the football counterpart, with only one player being in the spotlight each week. The full “Team of the Week” will feature
the top three performing transfers at all five positions. Repeats are absolutely allowed for the full lineup, but the spotlight will be on a new player in each edition.
Mid-season Spotlight: SR SG MJ Collins Jr.
A top-200 recruit coming out of Combine Academy in Lincolnton, North Carolina, MJ Collins Jr. earned offers from Clemson, Virginia Tech, and Xavier after leading his high school to a state title and a No. 20 national ranking. He committed to the Hokies ahead of the 2022–2023 season and immediately made an impact.
As a freshman, he started 16 games, averaging 4.1 points and 2.4 rebounds. The following season, he was promoted to a full-time starter, increasing his points per game to 7.4 and adding 2.7 assists. The Clover, South Carolina native caught fire in the final six games, averaging 12.3 points on 44% shooting from three-point range. With Virginia Tech narrowly missing the NCAA Tournament with back-to-back 19–15 records, Collins opted to enter the transfer portal for his junior year. After weighing his options, he decided to head to Nashville to play for Vanderbilt.
Despite improving his stock the year prior, Collins was relegated to a bench role with the Commodores. He remained a lethal scorer, maintaining his 7.4 points-per-game average despite playing ten fewer minutes, while also posting career-high marks in field goal and three-point percentage. Even with 15-plus-point outings on three occasions, head coach Mark Byington played him for only fourteen minutes across their two postseason games, with Collins seeing just three minutes of action during their March Madness loss to Saint Mary’s. With one year of his collegiate career remaining, the former four-star re-entered the transfer portal looking for a program that would finally appreciate his scoring prowess. He found that at Utah State, committing to Jerrod Calhoun’s 2025–2026 roster.
Upon arriving in Logan, Collins made it clear that he was going to be one of the top shot makers in the country. He reached at least 20 points in four of his first six games, including an absurd 40-point outburst against Davidson. He currently sits atop the conference in points per game (20.2), field goal percentage (56.7%), and three-point percentage at a ridiculous 46.9% clip. The Aggies are off to a 13–1 start for the second straight year and have looked like the undisputed best team in the Mountain West this season. It took three stops in four years, but MJ Collins Jr. is finally on his way to becoming a household name.
Team of the Week (Mid-season catch-up edition)
First Team
Point Guard
Colby Garland, Junior, Longwood to San Jose State || 20.1 points, 4.2 assists, 3.9 rebounds, 1.1 steals, 50.8 FG%, 35.6 3PT%, 86.8 FT%
Shooting Guard
MJ Collins Jr, Senior, Vanderbilt to Utah State || 20.2 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.3 steals, 56.7 FG%, 48 3PT%, 87.3 FT%
Small Forward
Jaden Henley, Senior, UNLV to Grand Canyon || 17.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.7 steals, 46.2 FG%, 25 3PT%, 81.5 FT%
Power Forward
Carey Booth, Junior, Illinois to Colorado State || 12.4 points, 7.1 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 0.9 blocks, 0.5 steals, 55.4 FG%, 45.7 3PT%, 85.9 FT%
Center
Drew Fielder, Junior, Georgetown to Boise State || 13.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.5 steals, 0.4 blocks, 50 FG%, 35.1 3PT%, 70 FT%
Second Team
Point Guard
Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn, Junior, Illinois to UNLV || 16.9 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.8 steals, 0.7 blocks, 46.7 FG%, 34.6 3PT%, 86.7 FT%
Shooting Guard
Jake Heidbreder, Graduate, Clemson to Fresno State || 19 points, 3 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.4 steals, 45.5 FG%, 34.3 3PT%, 87.3 FT%
Small Forward
Corey Camper Jr, Graduate, UTEP to Nevada || 14.9 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.1 steals, 43.2 FG%, 37 3PT%, 80 FT%
Power Forward
Yaphet Moundi, Senior, Iona to San Jose State || 12.5 points, 7.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.1 steals, 0.5 blocks, 52 FG%, 20 3PT%, 73.8 FT%
Center
Nana Owusu-Anane, Graduate, Brown to Grand Canyon || 10.1 points, 9 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 0.9 steals, 0.8 blocks, 44.4 FG%, 30.8 3PT%, 69.7 FT%
Third Team
Point Guard
Leland Walker, Senior, FAU to Wyoming || 13.6 points, 3.8 assists, 3.2 rebounds, 1 steal, 47.6 FG%, 32.5 3PT%, 78 FT%
Shooting Guard
Josh Pascarelli, Junior, Marist to Colorado State || 12.8 points, 2.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 0.6 steals, 49.2 FG%, 45.7 3PT%, 91.7 FT%
Small Forward
Jevin Muniz, Graduate, Florida Gulf Coast to Colorado State || 9.1 points, 4.6 assists, 4.4 rebounds, 1 steal, 0.4 blocks, 50 FG%, 35.1 3PT%, 69.2 FT%
Power Forward
Elijah Price, Sophomore, Fresno State to Nevada || 11.7 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1.2 steals, 1.9 blocks, 39.7 FG%, 33.3 3PT%, 70.5 FT%
Center
Garry Clark, Graduate, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi to Utah State || 10.1 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 0.7 steals, 0.5 blocks, 71.6 FG%, 54.3 FT%
