Insider claims Virginia transfer Elijah Saunders down to five schools, including Matt Painter's Purdue

NCAA Basketball: ACC Conference Tournament Second Round - Georgia Tech vs Virginia - Source: Imagn

March Madness is over, and as a result, the media focus has shifted to Elijah Saunders and other players in the transfer portal. Players have been eligible to enter the transfer portal since March 24, and the window will stay open until April 22. One of the biggest stars in the spring transfer portal is Virginia forward Saunders.

Saunders is in the transfer portal for the second year in a row, having transferred from San Diego State to Virginia before last season. He had an immediate impact, improving his points per game from 6.2 in 2024 to 10.4 in 2025. Additionally, Saunders played an important part in the starting rotation, starting 26 of 29 games.

Despite his successful season, Saunders is back in the transfer portal for the second year in a row. He is among the most coveted players in the portal for his size and versatility. However, a report from insider Jon Rothstein on Wednesday indicates that Saunders has narrowed down his landing spot to five schools, including Matt Painter's Purdue.

"Virginia transfer Elijah Saunders tells me that he’s seriously considering the following programs: Texas Tech, Kansas State, Purdue, Grand Canyon, Virginia."

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Interestingly, one of the teams on his list is Virginia, so there is still a chance he will return to the Cavaliers.

How did Elijah Saunders' potential transfer portal destinations perform in March Madness?

Of the other four teams on his list, three qualified for March Madness this season. Texas Tech, Purdue and Grand Canyon all made appearances in the NCAA Tournament.

Grand Canyon had the earliest exit, losing in the first round, 81-49, to the Maryland Terrapins. Although the defeat was not surprising, losing by such a wide margin was disappointing for the Lopes.

Purdue had a solid tournament run, losing in the Sweet 16 to the Houston Cougars, a team that eventually qualified for the national championship game. The Boilermakers have a strong roster that could contend next season.

The team that performed the best of this group of transfer options in this year's tournament was the Texas Tech Red Raiders. They reached the Elite Eight and nearly beat the eventual champions, the Florida Gators. The Raiders lost 84-79 in the game.

As for the Kansas State Wildcats and Virginia Cavaliers, neither of them qualified for March Madness this season. It will be interesting to see if Elijah Saunders values team success when picking his transfer destination.

About the author

Alexander O'Reilly is a journalist at Sportskeeda from Kingston, Ontario with over seven years in the field at companies including SenShot, RVBlogger, Monarch Media, WordAgents, GSeC LLC, and IGC.

His favorite college team is Duke, and his favorite sporting memory was Duke winning March Madness in 2010. JJ Redick was Alex's favorite college player when he was young but more recently, Caleb Williams gets the nod. As the Chicago Bears are Alex's favorite NFL team, this was a perfect match.

Alex's proudest moment came when he was interviewed by a radio station in Ottawa on his opinion on recent moves by the Ottawa Senators, which gave him a confidence boost and the knowledge that he could succeed as a writer.

Aside from sports, Alex likes to spend his time playing games. He is also very passionate about running and strives to improve at the half and full marathon distances.

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Edited by R. Elahi