No insight. Just suppositions.

That's something that is probably impossible to track. Academic, personal, cultural, illness and other outside influences are all things that impact a decision to transfer. But I assume nobody is asking players to check boxes for their reasons.

As for the # of players stuck in the portal I'd have to believe that the extra covid year, increased red shirt flexibility (and programs managing them better) also lead to the increased supply of players relative to the demand of the respective teams.

And finally, as a coach and a program, I'd expect that some folks are more comfortable carrying fewer players knowing that the portal exists to plug any gaps.

Take Niele's decision to roll with 9 this year. While I think it's crazy this year, it also means that she's going into next year with 7 (8 if Jenna gets a waiver). I'd have to believe that a coach is comfortable with that because she knows there's hundreds of players available in the portal next year. So no need to look for one now.

The same could essentially be said about Brey's roster management going into next season. But he's always pretty much sucked at recruiting so I used Niele as the example, because the woman's team has the luxury of being more selective.