Where Does 2025 Transfer Portal Class Rank Among Eli Drinkwitz's Other Classes?

When all is said and done for Eli Drinkwitz, a huge part of his legacy will be what he did to guide the Missouri Tigers through the new era of college athletics. He hasn't been just able to keep Missouri afloat, but has seized the change to redirect the trajectory of the program.

"We’ve tried to adapt and use the rules the best way possible," Drinkwitz said in a press conference on April 9. "I think there’s zero doubt that a big part of our success the past three or four years has been our ability to embrace NIL, embrace the transfer portal, and use it as a net positive. Be adaptable."

That growth has been reflected in the level of talent Drinkwitz has brought in through the transfer portal. According to national rankings, Drinkwitz's transfer classes have taken a step up every year since 2022.

Moreover, it's illuminating to look back on the development Drinkwitz and Co. were able to put lower-rated transfer classes through.

Here's how each of Drinkwitz's transfer portal classes have been graded by national recruiting sites over the years.

2025

Highest-rated additions: Edge Damon Wilson II, wide receiver Kevin Coleman Jr., edge Nate Johnson
247Sports: 7th
On3: 7th
Rivals: 7th

2024

Highest-rated additions: OL Cayden Green, DB Toriano Pride Jr., edge Darris Smith,
247Sports: 13th
On3: 9th
Rivals: 20th

2023

Highest-rated additions: OL Cam'Ron Johnson, OL Marcellus Johnson, WR Theo Wease Jr.
247Sports: 35th
On3: 33rd
Rivals: 32nd

2022

Highest-rated additions: LB Ty'Ron Hopper, DL Jayden Jernigan, RB Nathaniel Peat
247Sports: 18th
On3: 33rd

It's easy to find one-year rentals through the portal, but much more difficult is bringing in players who become tenants of the program for multiple years. Even if Drinkwitz's first two classes were widely considered to be outside of the top 15 in the nation, those same transfer additions were cruical to Missouri's program turnaround.

For example, in 2022, the Tigers added linebacker Ty'Ron Hopper, safety Joseph Charleston, defensive lineman Kristian Williams and defensive back Dreydon Norwood, all of which would go on to be starters in atleast one of the 2023 or 2024 seasons where Missouri recorded back-to-back 10-win seasons.

Even after finishing the 2022 season with a 6-7 record and not yet being able to bring in the most-coveted transfers, Drinkwitz again brought in more significant, multi-year starters ahead of the 2023 season in both Theo Wease Jr. and Cam'Ron Johnson.

Doing more with lower-rated transfers led to a 11-2, Cotton-Bowl winning season in 2023. Since, then Drinkwitz has been able to recruit at another level, bringing in a top-10 class ahead of the 2024 season, per On3's rankings. Seven starters for the 2024 season were found in the transfer portal.

This class also highlighted Drinkwitz's ability to recruit players based on the idea of returning to their home state, with Oklahoma transfer Cayden Green being from the Kansas City area, and Clemson transfer Toriano Pride Jr. being from the St. Louis area.

Mississippi State wide receiver Kevin Coleman Jr., a St. Louis native, followed that up by committing to the Tigers ahead of the 2025 season. So did former Iowa tight end Gavin Hoffman, a former four-star prospect from just outside of Kansas City.

Those two offensive weapons make up what is widely considered to be one of the top-10 transfer portal classes in the nation for the 2025 offseason.

In some ways, the transfer portal has made it easier than ever to escape from the bottom of a conference as deep as the Southeastern Conference. In other ways, it's more difficult than ever.

It's more difficult than ever to retain talent. Especially when you're not winning.

But, with strategic portal recruiting, and development of that talent, there's plenty of room of elevation like Drinkwitz has found.