Survey every college head coach in America about their feelings on the transfer portal. and you're sure to get a range of answers from "I've always believed kids should be able to transfer where they think is best" to "It's the worst thing that has every happened to college athletics," and everywhere in between.
One state has seen what the transfer portal has been like in college athletics and is considering bringing it to high schools in their state.
Based on a push from at least one lawmaker in Senator Lisa Wellman (who also serves as chair of the Senate Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee), Washington is considering allowing high school kids to transfer without penalty, per a piece from The News Tribune.
Currently, student athletes that live in Washington are allowed to transfer once heading into their 9th grade year and are even permitted to transfer outside of their district boundaries.
After beginning high school, moving schools without moving residences would make a student athlete ineligible - provided they don't meet a handful of exceptions that include hardships (which in turn have to be proven).
Those seem like pretty standard rules that closely resemble a lot of other state high school athletic associations around the country.
Those advocating for a transfer portal of sorts in Washington say that it should be a free choice where parents send their kids to school.
On the other side of the coin are people afraid of super teams being created and educational athletics falling to the wayside.
Somewhere in the middle sits a creative option like a one-time transfer once a kid starts high school where they could head to a different school (for reasons outside academics) without penalty.
Florida is one state that comes to mind that has a "portal" of sorts. Kids that star for their team, and play out their season and wind up not making the playoffs can transfer schools and play for a playoff team the next week.
I know. It sounds wild, but (my understanding is) that it can...and does happen.
For now, in Washington, the high school portal idea has hit a pause at the discussion phase, as the WIAA is not set to vote on it during their spring session. Instead, they've formed a 22-person committee to look at the rule and come up with an amendment that has a shot to get passed.
We could see a vote on the issue in the spring of 2025 with a possible high school portal in place by the 2025-26 school year in Washington.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.