Transfer later and get paid: The new sales pitch emerging for college recruiting

Editor’s note: This is the first Recruiting Across Minnesota, a new Strib Varsity feature on recruiting in Minnesota high school sports.

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Waseca football star Deron Russell is part of a generation of Minnesota high school athletes experiencing something new in recruiting.

Playing time. Winning culture. Relationships. Those are still main selling points by college programs, as is name, image and likeness (NIL) money.

The latest: college coaches pitching their programs as potential layover stops on the way power conferences and eye-popping NIL.

Russell, headed to North Dakota State, said schools mentioned in their recruiting pitches that Ohio State or Oregon could want him if he developed in their program first.

“And that in a couple of years I can have every school in the nation come calling,” said Russell, an uber-athletic Strib Varsity All-Minnesota defensive back.

Athletes, mainly in sports such as football and men’s and women’s basketball that attract the most NIL dollars, have more opportunities to leave behind lower-level Division I schools — or even in D-II, D-III — to transfer to higher-profile programs for added exposure and potentially life-changing paydays.

Since NIL was first allowed in 2021, D-I football and basketball at the major conference level have seen money skyrocket in recruiting, especially in the transfer portal. The difference now is the transparency. Coaches are having more conversations with high school prospects about getting them to the level above if their schools can’t offer big money.

Nine of the top 10 football recruits in Minnesota’s 2026 high school class are already going to Power Four programs. But Russell picked NDSU because he loves the Bison’s winning tradition and track record for sending players to the NFL.

“I feel personally like I can play at the highest level,” Russell said. “In today’s game and in college football, there are kind of stepping stones. But I think North Dakota State is a perfect fit. I can get in there and hopefully get on the field right away.”

There were at least 20 former Minnesota high school players who transferred from lower-level college football to bigger Football Bowl Subdivision and Power Four programs between 2022 and 2025, according to Prep Redzone. That included former Woodbury standout Blake Rohrer going from D-III Wisconsin-River Falls to Duke, and Parker Knutson from D-II Southwest Minnesota State to the Gophers.

A dozen Minnesotans during that period also transferred to either a bigger conference or higher level of men’s college basketball after graduating from high school, including Columbia Heights’ Terrence Brown transferring from Fairleigh Dickinson to Utah and again to North Carolina.

Women’s basketball transfers for NIL aren’t as frequent as football or men’s basketball, but they are growing and there is “definitely something going on,” Minnesota Fury AAU girls basketball director Nick Storm said.

“Coaches have told me, ‘Tell a player to come here for two years and then go make a lot of money,’ ” Storm added. “... They’ll even say, ‘Come here for a year and average X and move on to make a bunch of money somewhere else.’ ”

‘Stepping-stone’ schools

Every Minnesota high school basketball player would love to be in Brown’s shoes — getting to play on the biggest stage for a high-profile program that will make him a millionaire through NIL.

“I never imagined making money like this in college,” Brown told Strib Varsity after he committed to North Carolina on April 21. “It’s just all surreal and a blessing to be in the position I am to help myself and my family.”

The same high school senior who had zero D-I scholarship offers became one of this spring’s hottest targets in the transfer portal before signing for reportedly millions in NIL to play for new Tar Heels coach Michael Malone, a former NBA champion with Denver.

Once Brown found a D-I school that believed in him after prep school, he used the portal to move from FDU in New Jersey to Utah in Salt Lake City and now UNC on Tobacco Road.

“We all grow up watching North Carolina, Kentucky, Duke and Kansas, these schools playing for national championships,” said Brown, who also had talks with Kansas and Kentucky in the portal. “Definitely feels good to represent one of those schools and have a chance to go in there and make an instant impact.”

Brown’s journey doesn’t happen every day, but his type of movement does, as a byproduct of the transfer portal era.

“You’re treating them like a stepping stone. I feel like a lot of smaller schools, that’s how they’re recruiting nowadays,” Brown said. “Most of them are not bringing guys in and saying, ‘I want you to be a four-year guy.’ Their pitch is: ‘Take a look at this guy we had and look how he thrived under our process and in our system. And this is how you can end up at a bigger school or in the [pros].’”

Five of the top eight players in the state’s 2026 boys basketball class signed with mid-major D-I programs, including Cretin-Derham Hall’s JoJo Mitchell, who’s headed to St. Thomas. The guard understands the portal landscape.

“When the team is really good, some of the best players usually go somewhere else to make some money,” Mitchell said.

The Tommies’ free-flowing offense has been a springboard for players to transfer to power conferences in recent years, but Mitchell says he’s focused on making an immediate impact as a freshman.

“I like my opportunity to hopefully play right away,” Mitchell said. “I really like [Johnny] Tauer and the coaching staff. And I like St. Thomas a lot, so I’m going in there just [thinking] about St. Thomas and having a great year.”

Coaches adjust to ‘new’

Concordia-St. Paul men’s basketball coach Matt Fletcher was among 40 coaches from the D-II, D-III, NAIA and junior college levels watching players at the Prep Hoops Twin Cities Takedown in late April at Hopkins High.

Some coaches were looking at prospects who likely thought they were too good for the lower levels. But not everyone can play D-I sports, especially right away.

A selling point, though, is to take a different path to the same dream.

“I think every coach has their method with this new style,” Fletcher said. “I do know some coaches are selling to a highly touted recruit to come use us as a two-year and I’ll help you land at the next stop if it’s good enough.”

Fletcher was the only D-II coach to offer Ben Kopetzki when he was a senior at Andover High a few years ago. Kopetzki earned All-Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference honors and helped the Golden Bears win 41 games the last two seasons. Now a junior, Kopetzki entered the portal this spring and committed to play D-I ball at Appalachian State.

“I couldn’t get upset,” Fletcher said. “My biggest thing I tell my staff is we’re going to find the best players we can at the high school level. … If we’re going to have players like Ben emerge with our development, that means we’re pretty [darn] good. And if they’re going to leave for their last year or two and they’ve earned it, that’s the new basketball.”

Tauer is still looking to recruit players who would enjoy playing four years for him, but the Tommies’ conference is becoming a feeder system for power conferences.

Summit League teams like St. Thomas and North Dakota, which recruit Minnesota high school players, were hit hard with portal losses this offseason. Tauer’s program is gaining a reputation for developing more high school players who are moving on to pursue bigger NIL opportunities.

The Tommies lost starters Andrew Rohde and Kendall Blue to Virginia and Nebraska, respectively. This past season’s leading scorer, Nolan Minessale, has transferred to Marquette.

“You want to support people’s hopes and dreams,” Tauer said. “But also, there has to be a dose of reality. We tell our players all the time: You can have anything in life, but you can’t always have everything you want. Everybody wants to be the high-volume, high-usage scorer on a great team, at a great school, making a lot of money. That’s the star at Duke and Michigan. You also have to pick what’s most important to you.”

‘I know I’m good enough’

Apple Valley guard Trey Parker’s breakout performance in the Minnesota boys basketball tournament in late March was one to remember.

The 6-3 senior and sharpshooter led the Eagles’ run to a Class 4A state runner-up finish.

When it came to picking a college, though, Sioux Falls was the only D-II school to offer him a full scholarship. He committed in mid-April.

“You see [D-I] coaches talking about they don’t recruit high school kids anymore,” Parker said. “So, if you don’t have an extra motivation as a high school kid, you’re not going to make it nowadays. For me, I’ve always been up for the challenge. I know I’m good enough to play collegiately [anywhere].”

Sioux Falls recently saw freshman Brogan Madson, who played at Mankato East, enter the portal and sign with St. Thomas after a breakout freshman year. Northern Michigan saw Keller Hanson from Sauk Rapids-Rice sign with D-I Northern Illinois after a year.

In the state’s 2024 high school class, Kopetzki, St. Cloud Tech’s Tameron Ferguson (Augustana to Arkansas State) and Holy Family’s Kole Hanson (Minnesota Duluth to Holy Cross) are transferring from to D-II to D-I after committing this spring.

“One of my biggest goals is to play at the highest level possible,” Parker said. “Sioux Falls gave [Madson] a lot of opportunities to shine as a freshman, which is something I love to see. I’m excited to see what I can do next year. If the opportunity presented itself for me to move up to the next level, that would be great.”

The NAIA to D-I route is even more rare, but it worked for Shakopee’s Jalen Langsy. He’s going from Northwestern College in Iowa to South Alabama this year.

“Committing to NAIA out of high school, people always questioned me and thought I was better than that,” said Langsy, a first-team All-American as a sophomore. “I think I’ve changed the perspective of people around me on NAIA to them thinking maybe they should take that route to D-I.”

Langsy said NAIA, D-II and D-III all feature better basketball than people might think. And it’s at those levels where Minnesota high schoolers can begin their journey to higher levels and better NIL opportunities after transferring.

“That’s kind of the [landscape] we live in today,” Langsy said. “Even my South Alabama coach has all the belief in the world in me. He says I’m a high-major guard, if I wanted to maximize my opportunities one day. But obviously, I would help them win in the process.”

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Recruiting Across Minnesota

Fuller’s five risers

Five Minnesota prospects who stood out:

Will Kirsch, Waconia: The 6-1, three-sport athlete switched his commitment from St. Thomas football to Denver basketball April 25. Kirsch, a 2,000-point scorer in basketball, helped his track team get off to a good start in sprints and relays.

Taylor Kurtz, Rochester Mayo: A junior and three-sport athlete, Kurtz plays soccer, hockey and track and field. She won the 100-meter dash and finished second in the 200 meters at the Hamline Elite meet in April. She also ran the fastest girls 100 in Minnesota at 11.75 seconds last week in a Rochester meet.

Nehemiah Ombati, Shakopee: The 6-3, 275-pound junior is a top thrower for the Sabers, but he is also experiencing a stellar spring in a different sport. Ombati, who was up to 16 D-I offers in football, recently announced a top three of Michigan State, Missouri and Nebraska, according to Rivals.

Amisha Ramlall, Rosemount: The Gophers basketball commit and junior guard led her Minnesota Fury 2027 team at the Under Armour Next AAU circuit Session 1 with 21 points on 53% shooting from the field in five games.

Kevin Wilson Jr., Tartan: Through his first four games in the Adidas circuit in California from April 24 to April 26, the sophomore averaged the second-most points at the event with 24.3 points per game, which included back-to-back 30-point games in wins for his D1 Minnesota 2028 AAU team.

Transfer portal tracker

Orono graduate Nolan Groves signed with the Gophers last week after transferring from Texas Tech. The 6-4 guard and 2025 Minnesota Gatorade boys basketball player of the year averaged 5.7 minutes per game for the Red Raiders. He played in 23 games, including the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament.

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Recruiting Across Minnesota will be published weekly on stribvarsity.com. Don’t be a stranger on X after reading, as chatting about these stories makes them even more fun to share. Thanks, Marcus (@Marcus_R_Fuller on X).