Why Oklahoma Coach Porter Moser is Now 'Leaning Into' the Transfer Portal

There are big shoes to fill in Norman. But Porter Moser thinks he found some perfect fits in the transfer portal.

Moser greeted the press on Wednesday on day two of SEC Media Days in Birmingham, AL — the 32nd coach to speak out of 16 men’s and 16 women’s coaches over two days — by comically eschewing an opening statement while still giving a good one.

“I know you want me to say an opening statement,” he said, “but I know you've probably heard a million of the same things: ‘I’m super excited with my team, I leaned into the portal with grace and confidence and optimism, and we've had a great start of the season. I'm looking forward to get going.’ So with that, I'll open up to questions.”

Moser’s time at the podium was brief, but he was asked about how he plans to replace a pair of big-league talents who restored OU’s and Moser’s postseason pride last year.

The Sooners finished 13th in the SEC standings in 2024-25, tied with Texas. They went 20-14 overall, which was enough to return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in Moser’s tenure.

That produced a trip to Raleigh, NC, where OU lost 67-59 to defending national champ Connecticut in their first-round regional contest.

Like Moser said, he leaned into the transfer portal — because he had to to replace fabulous first-round freshman Jeremiah Fears and brick-tough senior Jalon Moore off that team. 

Fears led the Sooners in scoring at 17.1 points per game and led the team at 4.1 assists, while Moore ranked second in scoring at 15.9 and also led the team at 5.8 rebounds.

Moser described how he expects guards Xzayvier Brown (6-foot-2) and Nigel Pack (5-10) and forwards Tae Davis (6-9) and Derrion Reid (6-8) to step into major playing roles this season.

“So I’ve leaned into these four guys,” Moser said.

“Jeremiah was — man, he just, he got better and better and better. And such a dynamic speed for the SEC. That's what I look at. He brought us such speed.

“But I think we went out in the portal and got two older guards that have been on the stage a lot. You know, Nigel Pack has been All-Big 12. He's played on the stage of a Final Four. And I know this, having coached guys have been to the Final Four … when they come back, it's not like they're satisfied. They want that again. 

“And then we went and got Xzayvier Brown, another veteran in the back court. Played at St Joe’s, great league in the A-10, was first-team all-league there. So I got a backcourt that had been first-team all-conference in two different, very good leagues.”

Moser also said he expects more big contributions from sophomore Dayton Forsythe in the backcourt as well.

“There's not a lot of freshmen that came off the bench last year and had three double-figure games,” Moser said. “ … So it's going to be by committee. I think we got some veteran guys, and we got another guy that was here last year that played that are all ready to come in and fill that role.”

Reid transferred from Alabama. Davis played previously at Notre Dame. Pack was at Kansas State and Miami-FL. And Brown starred at St. Joe's.

“They all played at a high level,” Moser said. “That was important to me. Winning mattered to all four of them. That was important to me. I wanted to add length. I just go on a night-in and night-out in the SEC: it's the first thing you really notice is the length, athleticism and talent of the SEC.” 

Moser said he’s changed his thinking on patiently building a culture through high school recruiting and retention.

“I think it's an interesting dynamic,” he said. “Because people are the portal because they want something different, right? They want maybe a lot of different things. But you also have guys that tasted winning that, they want that again, too. And you know, this year there's been so much talk about the last four years in the portal, and I'm just all about leaning into it. 

“You know, everyone came to me; they said, ‘Porter, you were a program at Loyola where you developed guys. This has got to be driving you crazy.’ And I went through probably that that time period. But now I'm completely leaning into it. You get a freshness about getting new guys. You get an enthusiasm of guys coming on your campus for the first time, getting ready of a new situation.”