What's next for teams eliminated from Sweet 16: Recruits, transfer portal, more - ESPN

The first three rounds of the 2026 men's NCAA tournament featured their fair share of heartbreaking losses.

Among them? Nebraska and Texas, which fell in close games in the Sweet 16 — the former to 9-seed Iowa, which also, incidentally, knocked off reigning national champion and No. 1 seed Florida. Arkansas and Houston ended their seasons with blowout regional semifinal losses to Arizona and Illinois, respectively.

Earlier in the tournament, Kansas was eliminated on a buzzer-beating layup by St. John's. Kentucky suffered its worst NCAA tournament loss since 1972. And North Carolina surrendered a 19-point lead to fall to VCU in overtime.

With some of the most storied college basketball programs ending their seasons earlier than expected, ESPN's Jeff Borzello and Myron Medcalf detail what's next for each. Here's your guide to their expected departures, returnees, top incoming recruits and where that leaves their personnel priorities for when the transfer portal opens April 7.

Record: 30-7 (14-4 in Big 12)
How their season ended: Lost to Illinois in the Sweet 16

Expected departures

Kingston Flemings (16.2 PPG)
Emanuel Sharp (15.4 PPG)
Milos Uzan (11.3 PPG)
Kalifa Sakho (2.5 PPG)
Ramon Walker Jr. (2.3 PPG)

Players with remaining eligibility

Chris Cenac Jr. (9.6 PPG)
Joseph Tugler (8.5 PPG)
Mercy Miller (5.2 PPG)
Chase McCarty (4.0 PPG)
Isiah Harwell (3.6 PPG)
Cedric Lath (0.5 PPG)
Jacob McFarland
Bryce Jackson (redshirt)

Top incoming recruit: Arafan Diane (No. 20)

Diane is a massive addition for Kelvin Sampson's team — and not just from a size perspective, though the 7-1, nearly 300-pound center is the most physically imposing and dominant player in the 2026 class. He'll immediately upgrade the Cougars at both ends of the