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Maryland coach Kevin Willard criticizes current asking price of players in transfer portal
By Paul Harvey
Published:
Maryland head coach Kevin Willard is no fan of the current state of the transfer portal. Just don’t look at his current roster of Terrapins ahead of their Sweet 16 matchup vs. Florida.
Recently, Willard described what he feels is the “crazy” nature of the portal. That involves an asking price of $2-$3 million by some players in the portal per the leader at Maryland. That number is in range with other reports on the current state of things, but Willard wasn’t done yet.
According to Willard, the money in the portal has “exploded” without any guardrails in place. “It’s been as badly of a rule implemented as ever,” said Willard. “And agents are taking advantage of it.”
“The transfer portal is crazy. There are kids asking for $2-3 million right now. The money has exploded crazy because we have no guardrails. We have no rules. It’s been as badly of a rule implemented as ever. And agents are taking advantage of it.”
— Kevin Willard on @team980
— John Fanta (@John_Fanta) March 25, 2025
On the one hand, Willard is not the only leader in college athletics calling on someone — anyone — to provide a structure and guidelines for the transfer portal. However, the asking price has likely exploded as teams have shown a willingness to meet those NIL needs in the ever-competitive landscape of college athletics.
The portal has also been beneficial to Willard himself. Of Maryland’s top 5 scorers this season, only freshman Derik Queen and veteran Julian Reese were originally signed by the Terrapins. Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Rodney Rice and Selton Miguel all began their career elsewhere before landing at Maryland and putting together an impressive run this season.
It’s one thing to be frustrated by the overall nature of the portal, but players will continue to set an asking price if teams show they are willing to meet it. We’ll see what that means for roster construction in the future, but first, Maryland is looking to get back to the Final Four for the first time since 2002.
Up next is a showdown with 1-seed Florida with the Gators a 6.5-point favorite per ESPN Bet. As for the Final Four odds, the Terps are just +450 to win the West Region and advance, but a major upset of Florida would certainly shift those odds moving forward. And be sure to use the Maryland betting sites for all things Terps in March Madness.
Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.