Cal Football: A Look at How the Bears Have Fared in the Transfer Portal

On3 gives Cal a No. 6 ranking, but a consensus evaluation pushes the Bears down to a still-strong tie for No. 14.

The On3 recruiting site gives Cal a transfer portal recruiting rank of No. 6 nationally, which is second-best among Pac-12 Conference schools. Only Colorado, which is No. 2 on their list, sits in a better position.

But Cal fans need not concern themselves with Pac-12 programs going forward, as the Bears will move next fall to the Atlantic Coast Conference. Among ACC transfer portal recruiting classes, the Bears are third, trailing No. 1 Louisville and No. 4 Florida State, per On3.

Nine ACC schools rank among the top-20, according to On3, with North Carolina State next at No. 7 and Syracuse at No. 10.

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But On3’s rankings are merely one opinion, and hardly a consensus.

A check elsewhere shows the Bears at No. 19 in the 247Sports transfer portal rankings and No. 25, according to Rivals.

To get a better overall sense of things, we combined the three sets of rankings, assigning points on the basis of 1 point for first place, 2 points for second place, etc.

That painted quite a different picture. According to our composite rankings, Cal’s transfer portal performance — factoring in arrivals and departures — is tied with Kentucky for No. 14 nationally.

That’s still a solid position, trailing only two current Pac-12 schools (Colorado and Oregon) and four programs (Louisville, FSU, NC State and Syracuse) that will be part of the ACC lineup next fall.

Cal’s 11-man incoming transfer class is headlined by wide receivers Mikey Matthews (Utah) and Tobias Merriweather (Notre Dame), cornerback Marcus Harris (Idaho), running back Ladarius Calloway (Old Dominion) and quarterback Chandler Rogers (North Texas).

The Bears’ biggest transfer losses are wide receiver Jeremiah Hunter (Washington) and inside linebacker Kaleb Elarms-Orr (TCU). Also departed are quarterbacks Sam Jackson V (Auburn) and Ben Finley (Akron), although neither figured to compete for a starting job next season.

COMPOSITE TRANSFER PORTAL RANKINGS

(2024 conference affiliation in parenthesis)

1. Ole Miss (SEC) 7 votes

2 tie. Louisville (ACC) 8

2 tie. Colorado (Big 12) 8 

4. Florida State (ACC) 15

5. South Carolina (SEC) 19

6. Oregon (Big Ten) 26

7. North Carolina State (ACC) 34

8 tie. UCF (Big 12) 41

8 tie. Purdue (Big Ten) 41 

10. Syracuse (ACC) 42 

11. Missouri (SEC) 43 

12.Indiana (Big Ten) 46 

13. Wisconsin (Big Ten) 47 

14 tie. Cal (ACC) 50 

14 tie. Kentucky (SEC) 50

16. Texas A&M (SEC) 52 

17. TCU (Big 12) 57 

18. Arkansas (SEC) 62

19. Arizona State (Big 12) 67 

20. Oklahoma (SEC) 69

On3: 1. Louisville; 2. Colorado; 3. Ole Miss; 4. Florida State; 5. South Carolina; 6. Cal; 7. North Carolina State; 8. UCF; 9. Missouri; 10. Syracuse

247Sports: 1. Ole Miss; 2. Texas A&M; 3. Florida State; 4. Colorado; 5. Oregon; 6. Louisville; 7. South Carolina; 8. North Carolina State; 9. USC; 10. TCU; 19. Cal

Rivals: 1. Louisville; 2. Colorado; 3. Ole Miss; 4. Arizona State; 5. Texas A&M; 6. Indiana; 7. South Carolina; 8. Florida State; 9. Marshall; 10. Oregon; 25. Cal

Cover photo of Cal transfer recruit and former Notre Dame receiver Tobias Merriweather by Matt Cashore, USA Today

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo