TCU isn't ranked toward the top of the tranfer portal charts going into the offseason, but that's because Sonny Dykes is taking an intentional, old-school approach to personnel management.
The TCU Horned Frogs brought in just 12 new players from the tranfer portal ahead of the 2026 offseason. That is the second-least in the Big 12 Conference, just ahead of Iowa State's eight.
Regardless of what recruiting platform's rankings you refer to most, TCU likely sits near the bottom of the conference rankings that determine the strength of these portal classes.
The Horned Frogs have not put up the effort that powers like Texas Tech or Oklahoma State have, but head coach Sonny Dykes recently told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that that outcome is by design.
Beat writer Steven Johnson says Dykes prioritized continuity over a rebuild. Johnson notes that the Horned Frogs lost just one regular starter to the portal from last year's team that finished 9-4 and No. 25 in the final AP Top-25 poll.
“I think it says a lot about TCU,” Dykes told the Star-Telegram. “Our players have a good experience going to school here. They love Fort Worth. They like living here. I think the guys like each other. I think there’s a good culture in our program. I think that they believe they’re getting developed and improving.
“I think they believe we have a chance to compete and win championships. I think it also means we’re competitive with what we have with our rev share and [name, image and likeness] perspective.”
Dykes guided the Frogs to a national championship appearance in the 2022 season just before the floodgates opened for NCAA players to take advantage of NIL and transfer portal opportunities. TCU found successs the old fashion way, and Dykes wants to stick to that method by prioritizing intentional high-school recruiting and personal development early in players' careers.
He especially put emphasis on trying to keep his 2025 receiving core intact. TCU had the second-best passing offense in the Big 12 last year at 290 yards per game, and with quarterback Josh Hoover transferring to take over the new national champion Indiana Hoosiers next year, Dykes saw the need to return as many pass-catchers as possible.
“We needed to keep Jordan [Dwyer] here, which we were able to do,” Dykes said about the Horned Frogs' second-leading receiver. “I thought it was really important. Having experience and having somebody that’s played and been very productive like Jordan was an important thing we were able to do."
The coach also praised the younger players, saying his belief in them will result in increased playing time next year. It's another sign of a coach-player relationship meaning more than an NIL check from some place where that connection is nonexistent.
Though Dwyer leads a solid group of receivers coming back, you still have to find a guy to throw them the rock. As important as the position is, Dykes did go the transfer portal route here to make sure TCU is led next season by someone with experience.
He found his guy in Harvard transfer Jaden Craig.
“He was the guy that we got the tape early, and we just thought he fit what we were going to do offensively,” Dykes said. “We were looking for an older starter that had a ton of experience. He played a lot of games. Was very productive. We needed somebody to be a mature leader.
"We felt like we needed to get a little bit more athletic at that position, maybe than we have been. We think he’s got an opportunity to be a better runner than we’ve had the last couple of years.”
Craig enters his senior season at TCU after having thrown for 2,829 yards and 25 touchdowns to just seven interceptions for the Crimson.
On throughout the rest of the transfer portal class, TCU found reinforcements on the offensive line and in the secondary, but argubly the biggest win of the offseason was securing commitments to bring back a crop of wide receivers and the entire defensive line.
“I think we came out of here with exactly what we set out to do," said Dykes. "I think our scouting and player personnel did an incredible job."
Now it's time to turn that continuity into continued success on the field.
