Oklahoma’s 2026 transfer haul is a clear sign that Brent Venables and his staff aren’t just shopping for bodies - they’re looking for players who can step in and help right away, and they want that help to come from the kind of competition the SEC demands.
That approach shows up in the numbers and in the names. The Sooners brought in 16 transfers and lost 27, finishing with a net loss of nine in the portal over the 2026 recruiting cycle. The class isn’t huge, and ESPN has it at No. 22 nationally, but Oklahoma believes the fit matters more than the headline ranking.
General manager Jim Nagy has made it clear that high school recruiting still matters most. Even so, the portal has become a major piece of roster building in the NIL era, giving coaches a way to attack immediate needs with players who already have college reps on their resume. For Oklahoma, that meant targeting experienced additions on offense.
The Sooners used the portal to address multiple spots, especially where they wanted more production and depth. They brought in tight ends Hayden Hansen from Florida and Jack Van Dorselaer from Tennessee, receiver Parker Livingstone from Texas, and offensive tackle E'Marion Harris from Arkansas. Four of the 16 incoming transfers arrive with SEC experience, something Oklahoma clearly values in a league that asks a lot from every position group.
That SEC emphasis stands out even more when you zoom out. Across the last four transfer cycles, Oklahoma had added only five players total from the SEC before this group: WR Isaiah Sategna from Arkansas in 2025, WR Brennen Thompson from Texas in 2023, DT Da'Jon Terry from Tennessee in 2023, LB Dasan McCullough from Indiana in 2023 and TE Blake Smith from Texas A&M in 2023.
The Sooners didn’t limit themselves to SEC pedigree, either. They also added linebacker Cole Sullivan from Michigan in the Big Ten and Trell Harris from Virginia in the ACC. Harris brings a strong statistical résumé after leading the Cavaliers with 59 catches and 847 receiving yards last season, and he earned Third-Team All-ACC honors.
Nagy said at SEC Media Days that Oklahoma knows it won’t win every financial battle in the portal or on the high school trail, which makes the evaluation process even more important. “You just gotta find guys that are about the right stuff,” Nagy told On3's J.D.
PicKell at SEC Media Days. “The money part (for NIL), we're gonna be competitive, but they gotta buy into what we're about, and that's the culture and the brotherhood and being developed and understanding guys that we recruit to Oklahoma should have NFL futures if they come in, if they put in the work, they allow themselves to be developed.
In Other News...
Oklahoma's QB2 Battle Just Got More Serious Than Fans Expected
The backup quarterback race behind John Mateer has become one of the more interesting camps stories around Oklahoma, and it is not just because the Sooners are looking for depth. Bowe Bentley, a 2026 recruit, and Whitt Newbauer, a third-year transfer from Mercer, have both kept themselves in the conversation, with Newbauer drawing attention for the kind of offseason growth that tends to matter once the pads come on and the reps get real.
Newbauer has reportedly taken a significant step forward in confidence and chemistry with his teammates, while the room around him has stayed healthy in the sense that everyone involved seems to understand what is at stake. Mateer, Bentley and Newbauer have all spoken in terms of mutual respect and learning from one another as Oklahoma works through the lead-up to the season, and that only adds to the sense that this competition is going to be worth watching long after the practice headlines fade. [Read more 🡒]
R Mason Thomas Is Giving Oklahoma Fans Another Reason To Watch
Former Oklahoma edge rusher R Mason Thomas is already making his presence felt in Kansas Citys preseason work, turning in a pass breakup and a quarterback pressure in the Chiefs loss to Tampa Bay. For Sooners fans, it was another reminder that the pipeline from Norman to the NFL is still very much alive, with Thomas flashing the kind of disruptive ability that made him worth watching in the first place.
He was hardly the only former Oklahoma standout showing up in preseason action, either. Robert Spears-Jennings, Kendal Daniels, Damonic Williams, Deion Burks, Febechi Nwaiwu, Nik Bonitto and Tony Jefferson all had notable moments in various games, while Baker Mayfield, Caleb Williams, Jalen Hurts and Kyler Murray were part of the Week 2 quarterback buzz, giving Oklahoma followers plenty of familiar names to track as camps move deeper into August. [Read more 🡒]
Reggie Powers Is Forcing His Way Into A Huge Sooners Role
Reggie Powers has spent the offseason turning himself from a promising piece into a player Oklahoma can count on, and fall camp has only strengthened that case. Entering his third season with the program, he has drawn steady praise from coaches and teammates for the way his physicality, speed and overall progress have shown up on the field, a sign that he is no longer just part of the rotation but a real factor in what the Sooners want to do defensively.
With Kendal Daniels now in the NFL, Powers is in line to step into the cheetah role and handle a much bigger weekly workload. That makes this season a meaningful one for both Oklahoma and Powers himself, since the chance to contribute consistently in a featured spot could go a long way toward shaping his NFL draft outlook. [Read more 🡒]