For the past few years, coaches and media members alike have discussed the changing face of college basketball due in large part to the transfer portal.

The days of Final Four teams bursting with one-and-done are a relic of the recent past, and even without one-and-done supernovas, the number of true freshmen making a significant impact is dwindling.

The transfer portal has revolutionized the sport, forever changing the way rosters are constructed and managed. Nowhere is that more evident than this year’s Final Four, where each team relies on players who portaled out, and in every instance except Purdue, their best player began their career at another school.

Just how pervasive is the influence of transfers at the Final Four? Of the 20 starters on Final Four teams, 13 began their careers at other programs.

While each program in Phoenix relies on transfers, a handful of players stand out as portal kings.

Here’s SDS list of the 6 best transfers at the Final Four this weekend.

Mark Sears, G, Alabama

The best guard left in the NCAA Tournament, Sears is the engine that drove the Crimson Tide to the Final Four. He is in his 2nd year at Alabama after transferring from Ohio.

Among Final Four players, Sears ranks behind only Purdue’s Zach Edey in Bart Torvik’s “PAR” statistic, which, like MLB’s “WAR,” measures the value of a player above a replacement player who manages standard production. Sears combines patently absurd range and lethal accuracy (44% from deep on a high volume of 212 attempts) with the ability to get into the paint and command help defense. He can also finish at the rim when he drives, forcing help to stay home.

An outstanding passer off the bounce, Sears punishes teams that overhelp, as North Carolina did consistently in the second half of Alabama’s comeback victory in the Sweet 16. The battle between Sears and Alabama’s backcourt against UConn will be appointment television.

Tristen Newton, G, UConn

Remember when Tristen Newton was the biggest question mark in UConn’s request to repeat? Yeah, we do, too. The East Carolina transfer blossomed into a Wooden Award finalist in Storrs, and he’s now UConn’s highest usage rate (26.2%) player, per KenPom. That means that 26% of UConn’s possessions end with a Newton shot, turnover, or free throws — and at 5 fouls drawn per 40 minutes, only Sears is better than Newton among guards at the Final Four in getting to the charity stripe.

Newton is a terrific defender who can guard your best perimeter player and has consistently produced steals at a high level. He also ranks 2nd among Final Four players in assist rate (31%), trailing only Purdue’s Braden Smith. If UConn repeats, Newton will be a vital figure.

Cam Spencer, G, UConn

Spencer was recruited out of the portal last spring to replace Jordan Hawkins, the walking bucket and perimeter sniper who keyed UConn’s title run last season. The thought process was Spencer would catch and release off screens and stretch defenses to make life easier on UConn’s magnificent frontcourt.

What Dan Hurley got in Spencer was a Hawkins replacement and much more. Spencer, who arrived as a grad transfer from Rutgers, shoots 44% from deep and leads the nation in offensive rating (137), per KenPom. But he also is an intense competitor who guards at a high rate and makes spectacular decisions with the basketball as 1 of just 2 players at the Final Four (Braden Smith) who ranks in the top 25 in assist-to-turnover ratio. If you want to know just how valuable Spencer is to UConn, look at his performances in the Huskies’ 3 losses. In those games, Spencer has scored 6, 5 and 6 points, battling foul trouble and shooting poorly. To stop UConn, you have to stop Spencer.

DJ Burns, C, NC State

No player has owned the spotlight in this NCAA Tournament better than NC State big man DJ Burns, who is in his 2nd year at State after transferring from Winthrop.

At the beginning of March, Burns was a quirky, throwback big man on a NIT-bound team known only to ACC diehards. A month later, Burns has been the centerpiece of a Wolfpack team that has won 9 consecutive elimination games on its way to the program’s first Final Four since the Cardiac Pack won it all in 1983. With a grin the size of a North Carolina mountain, Burns has scored in double figures in 8 of NC State’s 9 wins since the ACC Tournament, earning praise from the likes of Nikola Jokić in the process.

“I love that guy, he’s amazing,” Jokić told reporters on Monday. “How can you not love a player with his joy?”

Drop steps, floaters, jumpers, put backs — Burns does it all with a smile on his face. He’ll also be by far the toughest matchup for Purdue’s Zach Edey in this NCAA Tournament run.

DJ Horne, G, NC State

Unlike some of the other players on this list, Horne’s star turn isn’t terribly surprising. He was the best player on an Arizona State team that reached the Round of 32 a season ago, and excelled as a Sun Devil for Bobby Hurley after an All-Conference stint at Illinois State. Horne is a microwave scorer, as Duke (20 points) and North Carolina (29) learned in the Elite 8 and ACC Championship games, respectively. He can score at all 3 levels, and when he is hitting his 3s (41% this season), defenses have to extend, opening space for Burns to operate.

Lance Jones, Wing, Purdue

Jones, a transfer from Southern Illinois, has used his 1 year in Lafeyette to add much-needed athleticism to the Boilermakers on the wing. Matt Painter felt his team lacked consistency there a season ago, when Purdue was famously ushered out of the field by Fairleigh Dickinson in the Round of 64.

Jones is the best on-ball defender left in the NCAA Tournament, per Synergy, holding opponents to just .66 points against in isolation and limiting pick and roll ball handlers to a stingy .78 points per possession.

He can also handle the ball and shoot it– easing pressure on Purdue’s primary scorers, Edey and guard Fletcher Loyer (another transfer, from Davidson).