Indiana standouts Dancler, Fugate, Haywood, Windham land new D1 homes

Indiana’s high school pipeline kept feeding Division I, with Carmel, Indianapolis and North Side products among the names moving as the NCAA men’s transfer portal stayed open from April 7 through April 21. The latest wave put AJ Dancler at South Florida, Jaxson Fugate at Southern Illinois, Evan Haywood on the move from Butler and KJ Windham into James Madison’s lane, a snapshot of how fast Indiana-bred talent keeps getting redistributed across the college map.

Dancler’s move gives Chris Mack’s new South Florida staff another scorer to build around for 2026-27. The guard averaged 15.6 points per game for Coastal Carolina this season after two years at Le Moyne, production that made him one of the more proven offensive pieces available in the portal. For a program trying to reset quickly under a new coach, that scoring track record matters immediately.

Fugate’s jump may carry the strongest Indiana footprint. The North Side High School graduate turned a huge sophomore season at Indiana Tech into a Southern Illinois opportunity after being named WHAC Player of the Year. He put up 20.7 points, 8.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game for the Warriors and still has at least two seasons of eligibility left. That is the kind of stat line that forces a bigger Division I program to pay attention, and Southern Illinois did.

Haywood’s decision to leave Butler kept another central Indiana name in motion. The Carmel native averaged 7.2 points per game and ranked second on the Bulldogs in 3-pointers, enough production to make him a meaningful portal piece even if he was not the headline scorer on the roster. Butler teammate Jalen Jackson, meanwhile, chose to return after meeting with new coach Ronald Nored, underscoring how quickly the Bulldogs’ backcourt picture shifted.

Windham is the one Indiana fans will keep circling on the long view. The Indianapolis native entered the portal March 25, averaged 3.5 points, 1.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game this season, and still had two years of eligibility left. He also flashed real upside as a freshman, when he averaged 11.6 points over Northwestern’s final nine games and posted multiple 20-point outings in Big Ten play. That is the kind of trajectory that makes portal movement more than a roster note; it is a state export story, with Indiana high school roots still shaping the next stop for Division I players.