In today's college basketball, there's been a notable attention shift away from prep recruiting towards the transfer portal for coaches. The portal, unlike high school players, provides schools with proven college players that don't require the necessary strength and conditioning progressions and skill development in many cases.

But freshmen still play a major role in the success of many teams across the country and often provide a strong supporting cast for rosters across the country. The Hoosier's Kevin Vera ranks the most impactful freshman at each Big Ten school entering this season.

Mackenzie Mgbako is one of Indiana's three incoming freshmen after he decided to leave Duke and join the Hoosiers back in May.

This seems to be a perfect fit for both sides as Mgbako adds size, defense and physicality to the forward position. This was also a big recruiting success for coach MIke Woodson and his staff as adding Mgbako becomes the highest-ranked recruit to commit to Indiana during Woodson's soon-to-be three-year tenure.

Mgbako turned Indiana's incoming 2023 class from good to great and as we approach closer to the basketball, the buzz will certainly increase for the highly-rated freshman.

Michigan State has a star-studded 2023 freshmen class but headlining it all is Indiana native, Xavier Booker. Booker, the 16th-ranked freshman in the 2023 class has put the country on notice for being a McDonald's All-American and one of the most highly sought-after recruits in his class.

Tom Izzo really worked his magic during his recruitment process and Booker has a very high chance of being not just one of the best freshmen in the Big Ten but in the entire country.

Devin Royal is a great pickup for Ohio State and will fit nicely into Chris Hotlmann's system.

Royal is coming off of a great senior season at Pickerington Central, being named Ohio Mr. Basketball, becoming the school's all-time scoring leader, and leading his team to a state title in 2022. He also finished his high school career as the highest-rated recruit in the state.

Royal is a 6-foot-7, 210-pound power forward who has multiple dimensions to his game. His size and scoring ability will fit well at Ohio State as he looks to be one of the Buckeyes' biggest factors.

DeShawn Harris-Smith is a local product that should have Maryland fans very excited. Harris-Smith is the 37th-ranked player in his class and the number-one player in the state.

Harris-Smith has already shown to be a great rebounder with his size and demeanor. He's shown what he can do on the court but one of his most impressive attributes is his mentality towards the game.

Harris-Smith is a kid who wants to win and he's already made sure to tell fans that he is going to do anything and everything to win this upcoming season.

Illinois' failure to add a point guard in the transfer portal this offseason means that freshman Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn -- a former Purdue pledge -- could see a greater role as a backup to Ty Rodgers.

Gibbs-Lawhorn ended his high school career playing for Overtime Elite and has explosive scoring ability, but needs to find more consistency as a shooter from beyond the arc.

Pryce Sandfort will continue that brotherly tradition at Iowa and join his brother Payton this upcoming season.

Sandfort is a knockdown shooter and is considered to be one of the best incoming shooters in his class. He also possesses strong ball-handling skills as he started his high school career at the point guard position but then grew into the forward position.

Sandfort will have the chance to play either the three or the four position for the Hawkeyes but his all-around scoring ability will be a nice weapon to have this season.

Nicknamed "Baby Jokic", Gus Yalden was one of the most interesting and fun players to watch in the 2023 class. Yalden was able to grab social media’s attention these past few years due to his dominating skills during high school.

Yalden possesses great post skills and quick footwork. He equally shows a lot of strengths both on offense and defense because of his all-around style of play. He has shown that he can play either as a defensive force or a smart ball-handling forward.

The Wisconsin native will have no problems catching Badgers fans' hearts and will be a fun player to watch this upcoming season. He's already getting started early as it has been reported this off-season that he has lost a total of 35 pounds.

One of the best natural scorers in the 2023 class, Gavin Griffiths will make his way over to Piscataway and immediately be one of the team's most effective scorers.

Griffiths comes in rated at the 30th recruit in the country while also being one of the top shooters in the class. Griffiths has also shown to be quick on his feet which will help him continue to develop defensively.

It is expected that Griffiths will be a big part of the rotation at the start of the season due to his offensive abilities. He is a strong focused freshman that will be the first of a good group of incoming players for Rutgers.

Northwestern has three recruits coming in this upcoming year, one of those being Parker Strauss. Strauss is one of two incoming point guards for the Wildcats and is ranked as a three-star recruit out of Southern California.

Northwestern was the only school out of the Power Six group to offer Strauss a scholarship but his recruitment process really picked up traction in June of 2022, picking up all 10 of his offers in the month.

Strauss is a lifelong point guard with the potential to develop in multiple areas. Head coach Chris Collins has gone on to say that he likes the chances of Strauss being a combo guard at either the point guard or shooting guard position.

The lone freshman in Michigan's 2023 class, George Washington lll has already adjusted well in his time with the Wolverines. He arrived on campus back in mid-June to get to know his teammates and the system.

Aka "The General" is a combo guard ranked 99th in the nation who does a bit of everything. He has a nice well-rounded game but is especially comfortable at scoring the ball. One of his main strengths is being able to drive towards the basket and being a reliable spot-up shooter.

Head coach Matt Painter likes to analyze in-state talent and Myles Colvin is no exception. Coming out of Heritage Christian High School in Indianapolis, Colvin is the only recruit for Purdue this upcoming season.

Painter has high expectations for Colvin saying that he feels likes he's a top player in the entire country. "I feel he is the best player in the state and one of the top-25 players in the country."

Colvin is ranked as the No. 51-ranked recruit in his class and plays with a natural flow. Colvin has spent this summer getting ready for his time with the Boilermakers by playing with the U19 USA FIBA national team in the FIBA World Cup.

The Gophers look to improve this upcoming season and part of that transformation will come from the help of Cameron Christie. Christie is one of two players coming in for Ben Johnson and looks to be a guard that could immediately help on the offense end.

Christie is a 6-foot-5 160-pound guard who finds success with his mid-range jumper. Also known for his three-point shooting, Christie averaged 25 points, five rebounds and four assists in his senior season.

Christie is the type of player that will need some time to develop into the physical of the college game, especially in the Big Ten, but once he grows into his game he could be a well-rounded talented guard for the Gophers.

Eli Rice is a product out of IMG Academy in Florida that gained the attention of Fred Hoiberg quite quickly. Rice is a 6-foot-7 guard and a three-star recruit.

With the size and talent that Rice brings to this Husker team, he could easily be ingrained into the rotation early on. Rice adds tremendous size at the guard position which will help the Huskers defensively. Rice's time with IMG had a little bit of everything and that is the reason why he is such a versatile player.

At IMG, players are accustomed to playing multiple positions and a certain type of heavy switching defense. Rice will be a player that will find success in his freshman season and could be a big factor for the Huskers.

The only member of the 2023 Class for the Nittany Lions comes from the country of Iceland. Bragi Gudmundsson is a 6-foot-5 point guard who spent his time playing for U.M.F. Grindavik in the Iceland-Subway League.

This is the first acquisition for head coach Mike Rhoades and will add depth at the guard position. During his time in Iceland, Gudmundsson averaged 10 points, four rebounds, and 1.8 assists in 25 games last year.

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