There are maybe 20-40 kids on the list every year who use the rule to "move up" as the coach says. Most 5th years actually move down or sideways looking for more playing time. I know this contradicts the article but I tracked every grad transfer last year and this year. The article is wrong. With such a low number "abusing" the rule, I am ok with it.
TAMU, I'd love to see your data.
I said the above based on eyeballing the list of grad transfers from the summer of 2014. Since I didn't actually track it last year, I decided to this year.
As of this moment, 88 players D1 who qualify for either the grad transfer waiver or exception have selected where they will be taking their talents to next season. There are still a few dozen who remain uncommitted, but a majority of those are low level benchwarmers who will most likely be dropping a level of competition rather than going up.
I divided the conferences into High Major, Mid Major, Low Major, and Non D1. If a player went up, they got sorted in one pile. If a player went down they got sorted into one pile. If a player stayed at the same level they got sorted into another pile. This system is not perfect. Sometimes, players from a terrible high major transferred to a great mid major. This is probably a move up but because of conference affiliation it is recorded as a move down. It happened the opposite way as well.
As of right now, these 26 players moved up a level of competition:
Braeden Anderson Fresno State Seton Hall
Korey Billbury Oral Roberts VCU
Quentin Brewer Bethune-Cookman Illinois State
Anthony Collins South Florida Texas A&M
Jordan Gathers St. Bonaventrue Butler
Jimmy Gavin Wisconsin-Parkside Winthrop
Tomasz Gielo Liberty Ole Miss
Derrick Gordon Umass Seton Hall
Anton Grady Cleveland State Wichita State
Omari Grier Bradley Rutgers
Johnny Hill UT Arlington Purdue
Lenjo Kilo District of Columbia Savannah State
Damion Lee Drexel Louisville
Trey Lewis Cleveland State Louisville
Rafael Maia Brown Pittsburgh
Four McGlynn Towson Rhode Island
Shonn Miller Cornell Connecticut
Alex Mitola Dartmouth George Washington
Ron Mvouika Missouri State St. John's
Alonzo Nelson-Ododa Richmond Pittsburgh
Ike Nwamu Mercer UNLV
Shawn Smith Marshall Nevada
Sterling Smith Coppin State Pittsburgh
Mike Thorne Jr. Charlotte Illinois
Mark Tollefsen San Francisco Arizona
James White Arkansas-Little Rock Georgia Tech
These 40 players have moved down a level of competition:
Langston Burnett Wagner Glenville State
Aaron Cosby Illinois Western Kentucky
Gilles Dierickx Washington Seattle Pacific
Tony Dobbinson Northwestern State Metro State
Jeff Drew Central Arkansas William Penn University
Jimmie Duplessis Southeastern Louisiana Shorter
Sterling Gibbs Seton Hall Uconn
Tim Gill Jacksonville USC Aiken
Grandy Glaze Saint Louis Grand Canyon
Jure Gunjina IPFW Georgia Southwestern
Matt Hancock Lamar West Alabama
Charles Hill Jr. TCU Tarleton State
JaMarkus Horace Nicholls State Texas A&M-Kingsville
Lonnie Jackson Boston College Boise State
Jennard Jarreau Washington Tulane
Travis Julien Nicholls State Rogers State
Jalen Love Denver Newman
Tamron Manning Marshall Kentucky Wesleyan
Serigne Mboup Austin Peay Union
Austin McBroom Saint Louis Eastern Washington
Charles McKinney DePaul USC Aiken
Rawane Ndiaye Tennesee University of Regina
Kerwin Okoro Rutgers Norfolk State
Chauncey Orr Bowling Green Hawaii Pacific
Jalen Pendleton Southern Illinois Minnesota State
Durrell McDonald DePaul Mercyhurst
Tyler Rambo Murray State Indianapolis
Jarelle Reischel Rhode Island Eastern Kentucky
Denzel Richardson Eastern Kentucky Lynn
Jalen Robinson Dayton USC Aiken
Aaron Rountree III Wake Forest Iona
Ayinde Sprewell Western Kentucky St. Thomas University
Shaun Stewart Youngstown State Limestone
Gavin Thurman Missouri State Newman
Dakota Slaughter Alabama UT-Rio Grande Valley
Tavares Sledge Wright State USC Aiken
Antwan Space Texas A&M Massachussetts
Ricky Tarrant Alabama Memphis
Snoop Viser Eastern Illinois Minnesota State
Nate Wells Bradley Ball State
And these 22 made a lateral move to a school at the same level:
James Bourne Winthrop College of Charleston
DeVince Boykins Marshall Georgia Southern
Galal Cancer Cornell Kent State
Willie Clayton Charlotte Georgia State
Orlando Coleman Kenneaw State Texas Southern
Dylan Ennis Villanova Oregon
Tyler Harris Providence Auburn
Derrick Henry Winthrop The Citadel
Durand Johnson Pittsburgh St. John's
Iman Johnson UMES Samford
Scott King Stony Brook Fairfield
Denton Koon Princeton Hofstra
Uros Ljeskovic Coastal Carolina Grand Canyon
Chris Martin Mount St. Mary's Savannah State
Malcolm McMillan Central Connecticut State Canisius
Angel Nunez Gonzaga South Florida
Demetrius Pollard Northeastern Charleston Southern
Jermaine Ruttley Florida A&M Arkansas-Little Rock
Adam Smith Virginia Tech Georgia Tech
Rasheed Sulaimon Duke Maryland
Johan Van Zegeren Virginia Tech Northwestern
David Wishon College of Charleston Lipscomb
Now this doesn't mean that we should or shouldn't keep the 5th year transfer rule. But these does debunk the myth that a majority of grad transfers are jumping up a level of competition. For every top mid major grad transfer a high major steals, 1.5 are sent down to lower level conferences to replace that one. The only reason we think most grad transfers are trying to jump ship to better programs is because those are the only one the media covers. Everyone wants to hear about Damion Lee jumping from lowly Drexel all the way to Louisville. No one gives a rat's arse about Jeff Drew leaving Central Arkansas for William Penn.