RANKINGS
EVENTS
I COMMITTED
COLLEGE
ABOUT
The book is closed, the door is shut, and the year 2022 is officially done.
With just weeks to go before the 2023 college softball seasons starts, we decided to take a look back at just how big of an impact the transfer portal had over the last 365 days.
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The Numbers
1,474 – The total number of softball players who entered the transfer portal from 1/1/22 to 12/31/22.
This number includes any player who entered the portal, from any division and with any ultimate conclusion.
87 – The number of players who entered the portal and later withdrew their names.
Players who enter the portal can withdraw their names at any times; reasons for doing so could be planning to stay at their current school; pursuing solely academics at another school; or simply deciding the timing isn’t right to transfer at the time. Players who withdraw from the portal can still enter it again should they choose to do so.
556 – Portal entrants who have “matriculated”.
After a player enters the portal and then chooses a new school, once they have enrolled in their new school, that status is reflected within the portal as the player having matriculated. Think of it like a neon sign for each player: “The portal did its job for me!” Worthy of note, a player can enroll in a new school without being listed as Matriculated within the portal.
452 – Division II softball athletes who entered the portal.
Just in case you thought transferring was solely a D1 affair, not so. The portal is open to any D1, D2, or D3 student-athletes – and they can transfer to any level they wish. Some D2 players change levels – some go D1, others choose D3 – but a good many simply follow their path to another program at their current level.
97 – Division III softball athletes who entered the portal.
D3 players aren’t as frequent as portal entrants, which stands to reason given Division III’s no-scholarship status and many players’ reasons for choosing a certain school also being what keeps them in one place for their careers. D3 has had easily the smallest representation within the portal since its introduction.
831 – Athletes still listed as “Active” members of the portal.
Once again, the number isn’t infallible but it is jaw-dropping. Sometimes players do enter the portal with a different purpose than finding a new place to play. Except for some rare cases, the lion’s share of those still listed as Active either did not ultimately transfer to play at a new school, did not have their status updated upon enrolling at a new school, or may have transferred outside the NCAA’s jurisdiction (such as to NAIA or a junior college).
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The Trends
Less semester break movement
Since the portal’s inception, it had become fairly commonplace for some top-level players to enter the portal at the semester break. Under current rules, these players can choose to transfer following their fall workouts and still be eligible at a new school for the spring season. This fall, though, that years-long trend gave way to a new one as the portal stayed relatively quiet in the “stars on the move” category. An August rule change requiring schools to guarantee the scholarship of a player acquired via the portal could have had an effect here.
More NIL influence
Named our Top Story of 2022 on Saturday, the impacts of NIL stretch across college sports and have certainly had an effect on college softball directly. Similar to what has been documented countless times in college football and basketball, teams have begun to utilize NIL support as part of their “pitch” to potential transfers. NIL has also played a factor in some players entering the portal from their current schools, whether for a promised benefit or an assumed one.
More super teams
This is a fairly new phenomenon, at least in the context of being formed through the portal. There have been stellar offenses and deep pitching staffs over time, but there has never really been teams that appear to have no weak spots in their lineup or bullpen thanks to their work through the portal. We’re beginning to see the dawn of such teams though, with this summer’s portal action including teams adding talent to fill holes they didn’t have and teams “raiding” other teams in their own conference to bolster their own roster.
More “pre-portaling”
An occasional trend that has been most frequently utilized by Ivy League players, “pre-portaling” is just an invented term for a player who enters the portal but doesn’t plan to transfer until the following year. Graduate transfers and those coming from high academic institutions have used this method more frequently in 2022, giving them an opportunity to explore potential options where being a fun place to play their final year or years is not the main consideration.