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The NCAA transfer portal has made the process of athletes seeking new venues a much more public, and fun, operation.
The fact that players can simply enter their name into a website and then be available for recruitment is so much different than what we have seen before, and now tracking those players is its own new recruiting circuit.
After striking gold with Reid Travis last season, Kentucky Wildcats coach John Calipari has decided to reload his front court via the transfer portal once again. Bucknell big man Nate Sestina is committed to playing at Kentucky next season to wrap up his college career, and those that follow the process believe Sestina is one of the top guys that will be exchanging uniforms this season.
Jeff Borzello of ESPN recently ranked all of the transfers in the portal, separating them groups of those available now and those that have to sit a year. For those that are eligible to play immediately, Sestina checks in at No. 2 on the list.
2. Nate Sestina, 6-9, 245 pounds, PF, RS Jr., Bucknell
Committed to Kentucky
Averaged 15.8 points and 8.5 rebounds, shot 38.0 percent from 3.
That is high praise for a young man from Bucknell that most of us had never heard of before he visited Kentucky. If he can give the Wildcats anything close to what Reid Travis provided, fans will be thrilled to have him. But with his ability to shoot from the outside, could his value be even higher in Lexington than expected?
It’s also worth pointing out that the top grad transfer is Arkansas Little Rock’s Rayjon Tucker, who could land with the Auburn Tigers, so Kentucky may see him multiple times next season.
Check out Borzello’s entire ranking of transfers here.