Miami loses out to LSU for No. 1 player in transfer portal

Unfortunately, Rick Ross was not enough to sway the No. 1 player in the transfer portal, A.J. Haulcy, to come to South Beach. The highly touted safety out of Houston has officially committed to the Tigers for the 2025 season. As Haulcy brings his talents to Baton Rouge, the University of Miami suffers its biggest recruiting loss of the spring transfer portal window.

After visiting with Miami early last week, Haulcy went to the LSU campus Sunday afternoon and that was all she wrote.

Standing at 6 feet and weighing 215 pounds, Haulcy was a first-team All-Big 12 selection in 2024, recording 74 tackles, five interceptions, and 13 passes defended. His performance ranked him as the top safety in On3's spring transfer portal rankings.

Haulcy's journey began at New Mexico in 2022, where he made an immediate impact as a true freshman. He then transferred to Houston, starting all 24 games over two seasons and amassing a total of 172 tackles.

Haulcy becomes the 17th transfer addition for LSU this offseason, marking the most under head coach Brian Kelly in a single year. His arrival is expected to help solidify a secondary that includes talents like Tamarcus Cooley and Jardin Gilbert.

For Miami, the game of musical chairs for DB's in the transfer portal has already started. These are the defensive backs the Canes have recruited and where they have ended up: JaKobe Thomas of Tennessee committed to the Hurricanes, Thomas' teammate, Christian Charles, went to the University of Virginia, Haulcy went to LSU, USF's Brent Austin transferred to Cal, and Colorado's Colton Hood went to Tennessee.

Of the remaining names that have been floated out in the past, only one remains in the portal and that is Keionte Scott of Houston. Scott recently transferred to the Cougars in the winter after being with Auburn. Look for Miami to continue its push to find depth in the secondary.