Villanova Men's Basketball
Report: Villanova Lands Outside Top Ten in Transfer NIL Spending
With just three players returning from last season in the wake of Kyle Neptune’s firing, Villanova Men’s Basketball remodeled their roster through the transfer portal, picking up six transfer players so far in addition to three high school recruits.
Despite their status as a ‘Blue Blood’ program — and a prospective big spender in light of that — the Wildcats didn’t crack the top ten in dollar value for incoming transfers, per estimates from college basketball analyst Evan Miyakawa. The top ten range between Indiana (an estimated $10.1 million) and Texas A&M (an estimated $7.6 million).
Updated: Here are the CBB programs that are "estimated" to have spent the most NIL money on incoming transfers this offseason:
Indiana 10.1 million
USC 9.9m
Iowa 9.0m
Michigan 8.9m
Kentucky 8.8m
St. John's 8.4m
Baylor 8.1m
Miami 8.1m
Virginia 7.9m
Texas A&M 7.6mThese are… https://t.co/kD1bLHz7TH
— Evan Miyakawa (@EvanMiya) May 15, 2025
Reigning Big East champion St. John’s checked in at No. 6 ($8.4 million), while fellow conference foes Creighton ($5.6 million), Georgetown ($5.5 million) and Xavier ($5.5 million) made Miyakawa’s initial top ten estimate, published on April 14. It’s unclear where exactly Villanova checked in, but at a minimum they’re below the Aggies’ $7.6 million price tag.
The Wildcats brought in five transfers estimated to receive major playing time: center/power forward Duke Brennan of Grand Canyon, point guard Bryce Lindsay (JMU), graduate wing Devin Askew (Long Beach State), Big 5 guard Zion Stanford (Temple) and second-year Maryland players Malachi Palmer and Braden Pierce. Their sixth transfer, Malcolm Flaggs, is a former preferred walk-on who came along with Brennan, his best friend, as part of a package deal.
Villanova also brought in freshman Acaden Lewis, a top 35 recruit expected to receive major playing time, as well as Chris Jeffrey and the 7-foot-1 Nico Onyekwere. A reliance on high school recruiting is part of why their transfer dollar value might not be as high as expected.
