Things should heat up starting right away
Transfer Portal Snapshot:
As of Sunday (20th), per Verbal Commits there were 2,282 players listed in the transfer portal, an increase of 200+ over last season. The ACC has 109 players listed which is 46.6% of the rosters, an average of 6 per team. Breakdown:
- Transfers: BC-4, CAL-12, CLEM-6, DU-1, FSU-10, GT-7, LOU-2, MIA-10, NCS-8, UNC-4, ND-2, PIT-6, SMU-3, STAN-2, SYR-7, VIR-13, VAT-7, WF-5
- Commits So Far: BC-2, CAL-5, CLEM-5, DU-0, FSU-5, GT-1, LOU-3, MIA-4, NCS-3, UNC-5, ND-1, PIT-4, SMU-2, STAN-0, SYR-5, VIR-5, VAT-2, WF-4
Key Dates:
Tuesday April 22: Final day of 2025 Men’s Basketball Transfer Portal. There are exceptions, but generally, in order to be eligible to play next season players have to submit their names by this date. Players have until the first day of fall classes (8/18 at NC State) to commit to a new school.
Wednesday May 14: First summer session begins in 23 days. As noted above, it isn’t mandatory, but it is desirable that as many members of the team as possible are on campus starting the summer strength and conditioning workouts and skills training. The training and workouts are important, but the opportunity to get to know and bond with teammates and coaches is likely as important.
How’re We Doing So Far? Grade A++
Consensus is that NC State hired the best possible candidate in Coach Will Wade and the Wolfpack has a bright future ahead. There are those getting discouraged with the pace of transfer recruiting, but don’t forget, no matter what happens, WE HAVE WON THE OFFSEASON!
Roster so far:
247Sports recently ranked NC State 22nd in overall recruiting rankings – which reflects both high school recruits and transfer commitments. That’s not bad considering the Wolfpack is just starting, and will add another seven players.
- Paul McNeil – Coach Wade retained the Wolfpack player with the highest potential
- Zymicah Wilkins – Coach Wade retained the Wolfpack recruit with the highest potential
- Matthew Able – Coach Wade’s first magic trick, he pulled a 5-star high school recruit out of his hat. Able (247 ranks him 26th) is one of the highest rated players NC State has signed in many years. Many analysts think he will be a significant contributor to next season’s team.
- Coach Wade brought a couple of his (cow) boys with him from McNeese – Alyn Breed and Quadir Copeland look like very good additions to the Pack.
- True transfer #1: Tre Holloman – Coach Wade got his point guard. Holloman is an excellent initiator and was a key player for the Michigan State Spartans in their Elite Eight run last season.
Concerns:
- No bigs signed!! – (there’s a blinding flash of the obvious) Getting Mgbako on campus and then losing him to Texas A&M was a major disappointment. #needreid
- No “magnetic” pieces yet – When a quality player visits, one of the things he wants to know is who he’ll play with. We don’t yet have anyone signed who players will think, “I know who he is, I’ve watched him play and want to play with him.” Right now, the primary draw is the staff and the money. Not unexpected with a total roster rebuild, but as we add committments, it will help attract players and the Pack will gain momentum.
Who’s Next?
There are a lot of names being associated with the Wolfpack. These are some still in play that have been discussed recently.
Terrance Arceneaux (247 4-star transfer) – 6’6” junior guard transferring from Houston. Visited NC State last week. Coach Wade recruited him for LSU out of high school but he landed at Houston. 7 games started in 3 seasons for the Cougars. (one an injury redshirt season) Looking at his stats you conclude he is a good player on a very good team. Looking at his film, you see a lot of upside.
Colt Langdon (247 3-star prospect coming out of high school) – 6’7” forward transferring from Butler. He visited NC State Easter weekend. Langdon reclassified to the class of 2024 but ended up redshirting his only season at Butler. He attended Millbrook HS in Raleigh and in 3 seasons became their all time leading scorer. He averaged 26.4 ppg, 10.0 rpg, 1.7 apg and 1.5 blocks shooting 48% / 35% / and 82%.
Derrion Reid (247 4-star transfer) – 6’8” freshman forward transferring from Alabama. Visiting NC State today (21st) through Wednesday. He’s a former 5-star McDonald’s All-American out of Prolific Prep. He was the second highest rated recruit ever at Alabama. He only played 24 games (started 3) this past season due to a hamstring injury but did return for the post season including playing 13 minutes against Duke in the Elite Eight. NC State is his first visit. After losing out on Mgbako, getting Reid committed has become even more important.
Tyler Harris (247 4-star transfer) – 6’8” sophomore small forward transferring from Washington. Visited NC State April 2. Harris has crazy shooting percentages, 49.2% / 49.5% (45-91) / 69.4%. He must be one of the few (only?) players in the country with a 3PT% greater than either of the other two. Early in the portal he was listed as leaning toward NC State but there’s been no further info in a couple of weeks. That usually is not a good sign, but he is still uncommitted. He might be leaning toward the NBA, he submitted his name for the draft last season but withdrew. NBA early entry deadline is next Saturday (4/26).
Ian Jackson (247 5-star transfer) – 6’4” freshman transferring from the neighbors down the street. St. John’s is a heavy favorite to lock him down, he is from the Bronx and SJU was a finalist when UNC got him last year. Plus they are reported to be holding a big bag. However, national recruiting analysts have listed NC State as being considered. (leverage?) He has no visit to Raleigh announced and should be considered the longest of long shots. No idea why Pitino hasn’t yet signed him, he’s an excellent talent with three season’s eligibility. It will probably happen soon. But, wouldn’t it be something if he came to Raleigh?
Paul Mbiya – He is an interesting player (6’11”) from the Congo. (7’4” wingspan!) He is currently playing pro ball for a French team in the Euroleague, but he’s only actually been playing organized basketball for three years. He is rumored to be setting up a visit to Raleigh but no specific date has been announced. He has been in the recruiting news for a couple of months – he’s considering his options, playing college ball or declaring for the NBA draft. He visited Oregon and Syracuse back in February. There is concern about his eligibility as he is currently playing his third season of pro ball. If he schedules Mbiya for a visit, Coach Wade must have some confidence he’s eligible.
Efton Reid (no relation to Derrion) (247 4-star transfer) – 7’0” player transferring from Wake Forest. Reid played his freshman year for Coach Wade at LSU. Last season Reid started all 31 games for Wake and averaged 8.8 ppg and 6.6 rpg. Reid has played four full seasons and has no eligibility currently remaining but is hoping for a successful outcome to a lawsuit filed against the NCAA that would prohibit them enforcing their ‘five to play four’ rule – which could grant Reid a fifth season. If so, the Wolfpack might be interested. That lawsuit is scheduled to be ruled on this week (https://x.com/WinterSportsLaw/status/1913277151542943885)
Buckle Up!
Obviously the Wolfpack has entirely new leadership, but over the last two seasons, the next two weeks of transfer recruiting have been NC State’s most productive. Of the 13 players added in the previous two cycles, 8 were within the 43 days after the portal opened, and 7 of those were in the two weeks immediatey after the portal closed. With summer session starting 3 weeks from Wednesday, just like in previous seasons, there’s a good chance things will start heating up this week.