Upon his induction to the Pro Football Hall of Fame this past summer, I looked back on the remarkable college basketball career of legendary tight end Antonio Gates.

One of the many things that struck me about Gates’ time at Kent State is how, after breaking out on the national stage with a sensational 2002 NCAA Tournament, he returned for another season with the Golden Flashes.

Since the NCAA relaxed transfer rules in the wake of COVID-19, to such an extent that transfer rules barely even exist anymore, I couldn’t help wondering where Gates might have resurfaced had he played in the current era.

For the first few years since the NCAA’s changes, it felt like an inevitability that any highly productive mid-major player would transfer to a power-conference program. Plenty have flourished, too.

There have also been no shortage of transfers who moved onto supposedly bigger and better things but ultimately languished — one of whom appears on this Press Break rundown.

Transferring may be the best option for some, like two-time Coastal Athletic Association Player of the Year Aaron Estrada. Estrada played a key role in Alabama’s 2024 Final Four run. But plenty of mid-major transfers have reason to stay in their programs and establish a legacy like Antonio Gates left at Kent State.

To that end, it seems fitting to use a song from 2002, the same year that the Golden Flashes reached the Elite Eight, to set the mood.

The following five mid-major stars stuck around for 2025-26. Each is a player to watch in the coming college basketball season.

From the Big West, to the WAC and now the Mountain West — a conference consistently strong enough that it almost transcends the mid-major label — Utah State has been a steady winner.

Last season’s NCAA Tournament appearance marked the Aggies’ third straight and 14th overall since 1997-98. The former is more than BYU and Utah State matches the Cougars over the latter stretch, while USU has four more total March Madness trips since ‘98 than Utah, which hasn’t reached the Dance since 2016.

The 2024-25 season was a true testament to Utah State’s endurance, with the Aggies weathering the departure of breakout star coach Danny Sprinkle to Washington and 2023-24 Mountain West Player of the Year Great Osobor following.

Mason Falslev, who came to Utah State from nearby Sky View High School and immediately shined as a freshman in 2023-24, remained for last year’s campaign. He was critical to the Aggies returning to the NCAA Tournament, averaging 15 points, a team-high 6.3 rebounds and a conference-high 2.3 steals per game. He also dished out 3.7 assists a contest and shot 39 percent from 3-point range.

Falslev’s versatility would make him an asset for any lineup in college basketball. As it stands, he’s likely to be the preseason MWC Player of the Year and the catalyst of a Top 25-caliber Aggies team.

The aforementioned 2024 MWC Player of the Year Great Osobor is a quintessential example of one of the more consistent arguments open-transfer advocates pushed for years: Players should be able to follow coaches to whom they committed.

And indeed, players do often commit to specific coaches more so than a university. For this reason, reigning Southland Conference Player of the Year Javohn Garcia remaining at McNeese despite coach Will Wade’s exit to NC State is especially noteworthy.

Some in college basketball media touted Wade’s openness about taking the NCSU job ahead of McNeese’s NCAA Tournament run as a breath of fresh air; candor amid the often clandestine atmosphere of the coaching market. Given Wade’s track record, it struck me more as a public attempt to recruit transfer-portal prospects, including those on his own Cowboys roster that advanced to the Round of 32.

So when Quadir Copeland and even McNeese’s equipment manager followed Wade to NCSU, I figured the SLC Player of the Year jumping to the ACC was a certainty.

Nope. Instead, Javohn Garcia announced his intent to return almost immediately and fellow standout DJ Richards followed suit shortly thereafter. Instead of rebuilding, McNeese has the foundation to extend last year’s 2nd Round appearance into a second-weekend run.

Garcia averaged 12.6 points per game in 2024-25 and was a catalyst for McNeese’s outstanding defense with 1.5 a contest. Should he return to the torrid 44.4 percent 3-point shooting pace he fired at in 2023-24, Garcia could evolve into one of the more dangerous perimeter scorers in the nation.

Aidan Mahaney endured the tribulations of the transfer portal not working out. He had two strong seasons for Saint Mary’s, breaking out as a freshman to score 13.9 points per game while shooting 40 percent from 3-point range.

Mahaney maintained that scoring average as a sophomore, and while his field-goal percentage dipped, he dished out more assists and grabbed more rebounds. A 2024-25 Saint Mary’s lineup with Mahaney continuing to grow his all-around alongside backcourt mates Augustas Marciulionis and Jordan Ross (now at Georgia) may well have reached the program’s first Sweet 16 since 2010.

Instead, UConn coach Dan Hurley brought Mahaney in to play point guard, filling the role vacated by San Antonio Spurs 1st Round draft pick Stephon Castle. The transition didn’t work out and Mahaney averaged fewer minutes per game (12.6) than his scoring average Mahaney’s two seasons as a Gael.

Mahaney’s return to the West Coast also marks a return to his natural position. He’ll play the 2 with fellow transfer, Miro Little out of Utah, manning the point for UC Santa Barbara. A new-look Gauchos roster featuring this promising backcourt figures to be the class of the Big West Conference.

Amarri Monroe’s a former transfer whose career path followed the path more common before 2021. After spending his first season as a role player primarily coming off the bench for Wofford, he landed at Quinnipiac where he’d have more opportunity to make an impact.

And boy, did Monroe make an impact. He earned All-Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference his first year with the Bobcats, putting up 12.9 points, 6.9 rebounds, 1.8 steals and a blocked shot per game.

Monroe’s production, and the unique role he fills as a physical presence on the interior, might have made him a power-conference transfer target in 2024. His play in 2025 definitely put Monroe on the radar, as he was among the nation’s top rebounders (9.1 per game, No. 30 overall) and turnover generators (2.3 steals per game, 18th nationally), posted 14 double-doubles (18th), and improved his scoring output to 18.1 points per game.

The 2024-25 MAAC Player of the Year garnered interest from UConn and Kentucky, Jaden Daly reports, but seemed all but certain to sign with Rutgers. Instead, Monroe opted for another season at QU in pursuit of the program’s first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance.

The Bobcats have been oh-so-close with Monroe leading the charge, winning the MAAC regular-season championship before falling in the conference tournament. The third time could be the charm for QU to advance to the Dance for the first time ever; and, as Bobcats coach Tom Pecora alludes in the above-linked Daly Dose of Hoop article, Amarri Monroe could become QU’s first NBA player in the same way Hofstra legend Speedy Claxton went onto the pros.

Although Towson’s been to the NCAA Tournament, 1991 might as well be never for the crop of players born more than a decade later. The Tigers’ March Madness drought could end in 2026, as the reigning and defending CAA champions reload behind the league’s 2024-25 Player of the Year, Tyler Tejada.

Tejada shined as a freshman in 2023-24 and really broke out as a sophomore at 16.7 points and 3.9 rebounds per game. He’s a rangy perimeter presence at 6-foot-8 and can score effectively both from deep and attacking the rim.

His game is tailor-made for big-time basketball — and why can’t Towson be big-time? The CAA has produced multiple Final Four teams in the last 20 years, after all. The Tigers also have one of the most underrated coaches in the game with Pat Skerry.

Skerry’s steadily built the program from winning just one game to consistently reaching 20 wins since 2021. The 2025-26 Tigers should be his best bunch yet with Tejada as the program’s most outstanding player of Skerry’s tenure. Tejada has the tools to be the most dangerous CAA player since the aforementioned Aaron Estrada.