PROVO — There are three seasons in modern college football: the regular season, the postseason, and the portal season.
The steam had yet to rise off the final Pop-Tart and No. 12 BYU's 25-21 win over Georgia Tech that capped the Cougars' first 12-win season in 24 years before players were already choosing to enter the NCAA transfer portal.
The NCAA's 15-day transfer portal window opens Jan. 2, and it will be the only full-sized transfer window of the year after the Division I administrative committee voted in October to consolidate the sport's transfer apparatus into a single phase for all FBS and FCS players beginning in 2026.
Players whose head coach leaves their current team will also have a 15-day window to enter their names into the portal starting five days after a new head coach is hired or announced, as well.
The 2024-25 academic year saw more than 4,900 FBS players and more than 3,200 FCS players enter the transfer portal in a record-setting year for transfer movement, according to ESPN.
Once the portal opened Jan. 2 at 12 a.m. EST, more than 4,000 players entered the portal in the first 12 hours, per ESPN — in large part because of the reduction of opportunities to a single transfer window. More are expected over the next two weeks.
Here's a look at the BYU players who have announced they intend to enter the portal, a move that began immediately after the Cougars' Big 12 title game loss to Texas Tech back on Dec. 6.
COMMITTED 🤙 pic.twitter.com/UCrnvWyuSz
— Roger Saleapaga II (@RogerSaleapaga6) January 17, 2026
The list will be updating as more players enter the portal and commit to new schools.
Who's transferring to BYU for 2026?
The Cougars received their first Division I incoming transfer Jan. 8 with a commitment from former Oregon wide receiver Kyler Kasper. The former consensus four-star recruit played in 19 games over three years with the Ducks, but was limited to 97 snaps in four games most recently due to injury.
The 6-foot-6, 210-pound rising junior will have two years of eligibility remaining.
A day later, former USC tight end Walker Lyons committed to BYU, he announced via Instagram. The 6-foot-4, 235-pound rising junior from Folsom, California, was once a highly coveted four-star recruit before he caught 26 passes for 259 yards and two touchdowns in two seasons with the Trojans.
Lyons, who was previously recruited by BYU, Georgia, and others, served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Oslo, Norway immediately out of high school. He's the older brother of BYU quarterback signee Ryder Lyons, who will serve a church mission in Orlando before enrolling.
The list will be updating as more players commit to BYU from the transfer portal and/or other schools.
Who's coming back for 2026?
The NCAA transfer portal is tempting for plenty of players. But that makes re-commitments from current players (at times) just as valuable as new players transferring in or out of a program.
BYU is no exception, as current players — including some who many expected to follow former defensive coordinator Jay Hill to Michigan — began announcing their commitment for 2026 on social media immediately after the New Year.
This list will be updated.
Early signing class of 2026
