The Wolfpack signs shooting guard of the future
The Wolfpack has taken “the road less traveled” to fill the final two ’24-’25 roster spots, first Ismael Diouf, a pro player from Canada and now Byrce Heard, a player from the future. Both will enroll and join the team for the fall semester, which begins August 19.
On Wednesday, 6’5” shooting guard Bryce Heard announced his commitment to the Wolfpack and that he will join Trey Parker and Paul McNeil in the ’24-’25 freshman class. Heard was initially in the class of 2025 but has elected to reclassify and start college ball this season. He fills the last of the Pack’s available 13 scholarships. He is the sixth player on the team who will have remaining eligibility for the ’25-’26 season, ideally somewhat offsetting the impact of the Pack (minimally) losing seven players next spring. But make no mistake, the 2025 transfer season is going to be intense. (read: expensive)
He’s a 4-star, top 100 player on all three major recruiting sites but they are still classifying him in the 2025 recruiting cycle – meaning he is being ranked against the rising high school senior class, ESPN ranks him #82, Rivals #93, and 247 has him as composite #89.
Interestingly, before transferring to Homewood-Flossmoor High School for his junior season, Heard and incoming Duke 5-star phenom Cooper Flagg played together as sophomores at Monteverde Academy. Flagg also reclassified to play this season.
The Pack is loaded with experienced guards this season, so this might be an ideal opportunity for Heard to redshirt and protect a year of eligibility while getting the benefits of practicing with the team, learning the system, and Coach Murphy’s S&C program. But in the new transfer-centric world of college basketball, who knows what makes sense to these players?
Welcome Bryce!
The ’24-’25 Roster
- #0 – Mike James 6’5” (RS JR)
- #1 – Brandon Huntley-Hatfield 6’10” (SR)
- #2 – Paul McNeil 6’5” (FR)
- #3 – Dontrez Styles 6’6” (SR)
- #4 – Breon Pass 6’0” (SR)
- #5 – Trey Parker 6’1” (FR)
- #8 – Jayden Taylor 6’4” (SR)
- #10 – Marcus Hill 6’4” (SR)
- #11 – Dennis Parker, Jr 6’6” (SO)
- #12 – Michael O’Connell 6’2” (GR)
- #13 – KJ Keatts 5’10” (JR) (W-O)
- #22 – Jordan Snell 6’2” (JR) (W-O)
- #34 – Ben Middlebrooks 6’10” (SR)
- #TBD (enrolling fall semester) – Ismael Diouf 6’9” (JR)
- #TBD (enrolling fall semester) – Bryce Heard 6’5” (FR)