17,616
athletes moved from one four-year college program to another this offseason and are on a new 2026-27 roster. That is 10.2% of every D1 roster, about one player in ten.
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Published October 2026 · Roster data from official athletics websites · Free to cite with a link
The short version. Every figure is calculated from college rosters and explained in full further down the page.
athletes moved from one four-year college program to another this offseason and are on a new 2026-27 roster. That is 10.2% of every D1 roster, about one player in ten.
four-year transfers joined D1 men's basketball rosters for every 100 freshmen on them. It is the only sport in the data where incoming transfers outnumber freshmen. D1 women's basketball is at 83.
1,825 players moved up into D1 from D2, D3 or the NAIA, and 1,821 left D1 for those levels. For every player who moved down, another moved up.
of D1 quarterbacks are new transfers, the highest share of any football position. In men's basketball, 35.3% of D1 centers are new to their team.
of transfers now play in their home state, down from 33.7% before they transferred. Transferring rarely means moving home.
New transfers from other four-year programs make up 10.2% of D1 rosters, 5.5% at D2, 2.8% in the NAIA and 1.6% at D3. At D3, 78% of teams did not add a single one.
Counts include only athletes who moved between two of the four-year programs in our data. Players arriving from junior colleges, from outside the US or from programs we could not read are not included, so every figure on this page is a minimum.
1,821 players left a D1 program for D2, D3 or the NAIA. 1,825 made the opposite move. Most transfers stay at the level they started: 84.1% of players who left a D1 program joined another D1 program.
Read across a row to see where players from that division went, and down a column to see where a division's new transfers came from. Darker cells mean more players.
D1 to D2 was the largest move between divisions, at 1,398 players, followed by D2 to D1 at 1,300.
In D1 men's basketball, 29.4% of this season's players are new transfers from another four-year program. Women's basketball is at 20.8%, football at 14.8% and baseball at 13.8%. In swimming, track and field, cross country and rowing, the share is under 2%.
In these sports, a large share of each year's new players come from other colleges rather than from high school. Every transfer takes a spot a freshman could have filled.
In the sports at the top of this list, coaches can fill a gap with a proven college player instead of a freshman. Recruits in these sports should widen their list to programs that still build through high school recruiting, and check how many transfers a program added last year.
Sports with at least 15 D1 programs in the data. "Per 100 fr." is the number of new four-year transfers on D1 rosters for every 100 players listed as freshmen, including redshirt freshmen.
Among Power 4 football conferences, the Big 12 has the highest share of new transfers at 21.4%. The United Athletic, Conference USA, Sun Belt and American rosters all have a higher share than the SEC, ACC and Big Ten. The Ivy League and Patriot League take almost none.
The ten highest conferences in each sport, plus the Ivy League and Patriot League for comparison. Conferences with at least six programs in the data.
The positions where a team plays only one or two at a time tend to have the highest transfer shares. 18.2% of D1 quarterbacks and 18.1% of kickers, punters and snappers are new transfers. So are 12.7% of D1 setters in women's volleyball and 13.8% of goalkeepers in women's soccer, the highest in each sport.
Share of D1 players at each position who are new transfers from another four-year program. Players are grouped by the first position listed on the roster. Our roster turnover study shows the same positions are also the least likely to have an opening in a given year.
New four-year transfers on each program's current roster, out of the total roster. Large football totals reflect large rosters, so the share matters as much as the count.
Programs with a readable roster for both seasons. Programs with the same count are ordered by the share of their roster.
Where a roster lists a player's previous school, we can see how many transfers started at a two-year college. We can also see whether transfers moved closer to home.
Based on players whose roster entry names a previous college, on the 3,713 teams that list one. In baseball, the junior college path is a major route at every level. At D1 it is a small share in most other sports.
Only 16.5% of transfers stayed in the same state as their previous college. Most transfers moved to a new state, and on balance slightly away from home rather than toward it.
68.7% of new transfers are listed as juniors, seniors or graduate students. Graduate transfers make up 12.2% of the total, and about three in four of them joined a D1 program.
Four rules that come straight out of the data.
Some programs add a handful of transfers every year and others add none. In D1 men's basketball there are 115 new transfers for every 100 freshmen. Look at last year's roster changes before you assume a spot is open for a freshman.
A senior leaving does not guarantee a freshman gets the spot. 18.2% of D1 quarterbacks and 35.3% of D1 men's basketball centers are new transfers. Use the roster at your position as a starting point, not a promise.
Only 1.6% of D3 rosters are new four-year transfers, and 78% of D3 teams added none. Programs below D1 build mostly through high school recruiting.
1,825 players moved up into D1 from D2, D3 and the NAIA this year. Starting at a level where you will play is a real route to D1, not a dead end.
See where roster spots are opening this year, and where athletes from your state go to play.
Pathley turns this data into a read built around one athlete. Delivered within 24 hours, one payment, and an expert checks every plan.
See the roster at your position, by class year, for 3, 8 or 15 schools you choose.
See the Roster ReportOne program covered end to end: fit, roster at your position, the coach to email and the outreach.
See the Target School PlanYour 20 to 25 best-fit schools across every division, with fit reads, real costs and a dated timeline.
See the Recruiting PlanEverything on this page comes from public roster data, collected and cleaned the same way for every program.
Pathley. College Transfer Study, 2026-27 season. Published October 2026. https://www.pathley.ai/college-transfer-study
Journalists, coaches and counselors are welcome to use any figure on this page with a link back to this study. For a cut of the data by sport, conference or program, email contact@pathley.ai.
We found 17,616 athletes on 2026-27 rosters who played for a different four-year college program last season. They make up 5.8% of all rostered athletes and 10.2% at D1. Transfers from junior colleges are not included, so the full number is higher.
Men's basketball. 29.4% of D1 men's basketball players are new transfers from another four-year program, and D1 teams added 115 transfers for every 100 freshmen. Women's basketball is next at 20.8%, followed by football at 14.8%.
About the same number. 1,821 players left a D1 program for D2, D3 or the NAIA, and 1,825 moved up into D1 from those levels. Most transfers stay at their level: 84.1% of players who left a D1 program joined another one.
Quarterback. 18.2% of D1 quarterbacks are new transfers, followed closely by specialists at 18.1%. Linebackers and tight ends have the lowest share at 12.5%.
From rosters published on each program's official athletics website for the 2025-26 and 2026-27 seasons, collected by Pathley in October 2026. An athlete counts as a transfer when they appear on a different program's roster in each season.
Updated October 2026 with 2026-27 rosters. Pathley refreshes college rosters every year.