The countdown can begin. We’re under 100 days until the start of the 2026 college football season.

To get you ready, The Denver Gazette will preview the upcoming campaign throughout the month of June with a four-part series on the Big 12, ahead of the conference’s annual media days in early July in Frisco, Texas.

Today, we continue with the best transfer addition for each program:

Arizona

TE Cole Rusk

The Wildcats’ transfer portal class won’t blow anyone away as Brent Brennan’s team looks to make noise in the Big 12 for a second straight year. Arizona mostly added depth pieces across the roster, but star quarterback Noah Fifita will be happy to have a tight end like Rusk as he enters his fourth season as the starter in Tucson. Rusk is looking to prove he’s still the player that was an FCS All-American in 2023 when he had over 500 receiving yards and six touchdowns before an injury dampened his impact for two years at Illinois. 

Arizona State

WR Omarion Miller

After star left tackle Jordan Seaton, there was no bigger loss for Deion Sanders and Colorado than Miller, who emerged as a breakout star in 2025, finishing his junior season with over 800 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. The Louisiana native flashed big-play ability during his first two seasons before putting it all together last fall. The last time the Sun Devils brought in a transfer wide receiver from CU, Jordyn Tyson developed into a top NFL draft pick.

Baylor

QB DJ Lagway

The Bears are putting a lot of hopes in Lagway, the headliner of another large transfer portal class for coach Dave Aranda, who enters 2026 firmly on the hot seat. Lagway had an up-and-down two seasons at Florida and hopes to rejuvenate his career at the school where his dad, Derek, once played. Baylor will need the former five-star recruit to look like the player many speculated could be a Heisman Trophy candidate at some point in his career.

BYU

LB Cade Uluave

The Cougars brought in fewer transfers than any other team in the Big 12, which isn’t surprising under coach Kalani Sitake. But BYU’s portal class still ranked high among conference foes because of Uluave, a Utah native who was a consistent contributor for California the last three seasons. He comes to Provo after racking up 97 tackles and three sacks in 2025. 

Central Florida

QB Alonza Barnett III

After two seasons of big-time production as the starter at James Madison with over 5,000 passing yards and over 1,000 rushing yards to go with 71 total touchdowns, Barnett heads to Orlando to lead a Knights team that is hoping for a similar jump in year two of Scott Frost’s first tenure at UCF when he led the team to a 13-0 record in 2017. 

Cincinnati

WR Cade Wolford

The Bearcats will look much different both from a coaching and personnel standpoint in 2026 after losing key contributors up and down the roster. The offense has a ceiling given the amount of returning talent and production on the offensive line, but quarterback and pass catchers are question marks. It’s worth betting on Wolford after he totaled over 500 receiving yards and seven touchdowns as a freshman at Kent State in 2025. 

Colorado

WR Danny Scudero

Scudero was the talk of the town in Boulder in the spring when his presence instantly changed the Buffs locker room. Well-respected by both coaches and teammates, Scudero also showed on the field why he was able to put up a nation-leading 1,297 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns last season at San Jose State on the way to being named a Biletnikoff Award finalist. 

Houston

RB Makhi Hughes

It’s a perfect reunion for coach Willie Fritz as he brings Hughes to the Cougars after one season at Oregon where he never emerged as an impact player like many thought he would, racking up just 70 yards on 17 carries before falling out of the running back rotation. He ultimately took a redshirt. Hughes is still the player that rushed for nearly 2,800 yards and 22 touchdowns across his first two seasons at Tulane, the first of which Fritz was the coach. 

Iowa State

DE Isaac Terrell

There are a few dozen newcomers to choose from in Ames as new coach Jimmy Rogers had to put together a brand-new roster after Matt Campbell left for Penn State and took plenty of key Cyclones with him. Terrell comes to Iowa State with Rogers after his breakout season at Washington State, where he led the team with 12 tackles for loss, including seven sacks.

Kansas

RB Dylan Edwards

It’s been a roller-coaster three years in college for Edwards, who burst onto the scene as one of the stars of Coach Prime’s first game (and first win at CU) in 2023. In a surprise, he left the Buffs to go home where he had a big 2024 season at Kansas State before a down year in 2025. Now, he’s a little farther east in Lawrence, looking to be the face of a revamped running back room that will be tasked with powering the Jayhawks’ offense.

Kansas State

DE Wendell Gregory

One of the lone bright spots for a bad Oklahoma State team last fall, Gregory was the prized addition in Manhattan, Kan., this offseason. Once a four-star recruit who played sparingly as a freshman at South Carolina, Gregory flashed all-conference potential with four sacks and a forced fumble in 2025. 

Oklahoma State

QB Drew Mestemaker

Take your pick of former Mean Green stars. They’re all in Stillwater now. Coach Eric Morris led North Texas to an 11-1 regular season and a spot in the AAC title game. Mestemaker was a big reason why as the former walk-on led the nation with 4,379 passing yards and 34 touchdowns to nine interceptions, making him one of the top quarterbacks in the Big 12 heading into 2026. 

TCU

QB Jaden Craig

The Horned Frogs will have to watch what former starting QB Josh Hoover can do with Curt Cignetti at Alabama this fall, but Sonny Dykes did well to replace Hoover with Craig, who is coming off two big seasons of production at Harvard. There, he threw for nearly 5,300 yards and 48 touchdowns in 2024 and 2025.

Texas Tech

OLB Trey White

This would’ve been QB Brendan Sorsby before he gave up his attempt to play after gambling on his own team while at Indiana. Still, the Red Raiders have plenty more newcomers that should make a big impact for a team that still has sky-high expectations. Look for White to fill the void left behind by David Bailey, who went on to be the No. 2 pick in the NFL draft after one big season in Lubbock. White’s breakout was in 2024 when he had 12.5 sacks at San Diego State before adding another seven last fall.

Utah

WR Braden Pegan

Pegan arrived in Salt Lake City with new offensive coordinator Kevin McGiven after the two had a solid season together at Utah State. Pegan instantly becomes the top pass-catching option for returning all-Big 12 quarterback Devon Dampier, who is also a weapon with his legs. Pegan had over 900 receiving yards and five touchdowns in a breakout 2025 season.

West Virginia

RB Cam Cook

After two seasons of minimal production at TCU, Cook went down to Conference USA and exploded for 1,659 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns at Jacksonville State. He returns to the Big 12 where he projects to be a key player for a West Virginia offense that again will lean heavily on the ground game.