Florida State wing Matthew Cleveland became one of college basketball’s top available talents on Tuesday when he announced that he is entering the transfer portal after two seasons at with the Seminoles. Cleveland rated as a five-star prospect in the Class of 2021 and earned ACC Sixth Man of the Year honors during his freshman season before leading the Seminoles in scoring as a full-time starter this past season.
At 6-foot-7 and 200 pounds, Cleveland boasts excellent positional size and a diverse offensive game. He averaged 13.8 point per game on 44.5% shooting from the floor this past season, including a 35% clip on two 3-point attempts per game. Cleveland’s size and track record of production will make him highly sought on the transfer market, but his game does have some holes.
In particular, Cleveland needs to improve defensively before he can be considered an NBA Draft prospect. Despite having the physical frame and tools to be a high-upside defender, he ranked eighth among FSU’s rotation players in defensive efficiency during the 2022-23 season, according to evanmiya.com. Offensively, Cleveland’s shooting is still on the shaky side; he’s just a career 28.7% 3-point shooter and 62.4% free-throw shooter.
But he is a strong wing with a great mid-range and high post repertoire who is showing improvement as a shooter. Those signs of development paired with his rebounding ability and defensive potential make Cleveland one of the top names in the portal.
Well over 1,000 Division I players have entered the portal and there are still weeks of player movement ahead before 2023-24 rosters will be even close to settled. Here at CBS Sports, we have distilled the massive number of transfers to a handful of names to know. For starters, here are the top 30 transferring players. This list will grow and player rankings will change as the May 11 deadline for players to enter the portal approaches.
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