The 2026-2027 school year marks Winthrop’s biggest freshman and transfer class.
By Kellan Hudson
Sports Editor
Sports
The 2026-2027 academic year marks Winthrop University’s biggest incoming freshman and transfer class ever, with roughly 150 new student athletes. The freshman and transfers are coming from across the United States as well as countries all around the world. This is exciting for the Winthrop Athletic Department because new faces mean new talent.
Many transfers are from Europe, including student athletes from England, Denmark, Germany, Portugal, Spain, Slovenia, and Slovakia. Outside of Europe, Winthrop is the new home to athletes from Japan, Egypt, Georgia, and Canada.
The transition to life in South Carolina comes with unique challenges, both big and small, that add to the demands of being a Division I athlete. Yannis Kugel, a freshman sports management major on the men’s soccer team from Syke, Germany, noted these changes by stating “everyone [in South Carolina] drinks tap water. In Germany everyone drinks sparkling water, which is so much better.”
The little things like this and adapting to a different way of life is something most American college students will never experience. There are even changes in the way the sport is played in different parts of the world.
“Here everything is pretty fast,” Kugel said when asked about how soccer is different in America than Germany. “In Germany, it’s more technical. You don’t shoot the ball long that much,” Kugel said. ”In Germany, it’s more about composure to create chances.”
Bringing in these athletes has had immediate positive impacts on Winthrop Athletics. Over half of the men’s soccer’s team are international transfers or freshmen. They are currently 4-4-1 after having a one win season last year. Winthrop is currently third in the Big South for goals scored with 19 after just nine games while last year Winthrop only scored eight in a total of 16 games.
What is it about Winthrop that draws in these players from all over the world? Every athlete has a different story, but for Lena Manssen, a freshman golfer from Hamburg, Germany, playing college in America was something she always hoped to do. “I’ve always wanted to play here just because I love competing and being around a team and to travel,” Manssen said.
The transition to America is also weird for many of these athletes because the education they received in their home country doesn’t always line up with the academic system in the United States. For instance, Kugel is a 21-year-old freshman. Similarly, Joel Cwik, a 20-year-old freshman basketball player from Ulm, Germany, hasn’t been in school for two years, making this transition abnormal. “I didn’t go to school since I was 18, so getting back to learning is kind of tough,” Cwik said.
Winthrop is a prime example of the growth in the transfer portal for NCAA athletes. From 2025 to 2026, the overall college basketball transfer portal increased 11.3% (Front Office Sports, 2025). This growth can be seen across all sports. Now, with NIL money and players getting paid signing bonuses, Power Four (SEC, ACC, Big 10, and Big 12) schools are more appealing than ever before.
This has its downsides for a mid-major school like Winthrop because when athletes have a successful year, they’ll then often hit the transfer portal in hopes of playing at a higher level or earning more NIL money. This makes it difficult to build power house programs because it means star players rarely last a four-year career at the same school. Former Winthrop basketball player Logan Duncomb, last year’s Big South Player of the Year, transferred to the University of Notre Dame for his final season of basketball eligibility.
However, the transfer portal also has its perks because it allows struggling teams like Winthrop men’s soccer to completely rebuild. Winthrop men’s soccer had four players return from last season and therefore a lot of their success can be credited to their recruiting and use of the transfer portal.
While the transfer portal and the increase of international recruits in college sports can be chaotic, it also helps athletes achieve their dreams. Winthrop has benefited immensely from these recruits and so have the players.
“It was most definitely a dream of mine to play so I’m happy to be here,” Cwik said.
