Coming out of the 2025-26 season, Clemson and basketball head coach Brad Brownell knew they needed to hit the transfer portal to quickly add pieces, as four former players exhausted eligibility, while forward Jake Wahlin and guard Butta Johnson entered the portal.
Brownell didn’t waste any time addressing those needs, securing his first portal commitment in the first week of its opening.
On April 12, the Tigers landed rising junior Cole Certa from ACC foe Notre Dame after hosting him on campus this past weekend, a visit that ultimately solidified his decision as he canceled the rest of his scheduled stops. He also drew interest from Marquette, DePaul and Louisville, with a visit to Marquette previously scheduled.
Certa was one of the most coveted players in the transfer portal, earning a four-star transfer rating while ranking as the No. 112 overall player and the No. 25 shooting guard in the country.
In his sophomore campaign this past season, the six-foot-four guard averaged 12.8 points and 1.7 rebounds while establishing himself as one of the best 3-point shooters in the ACC. Across 32 games played, 16 of which were starts, Certa knocked down 2.6 of his 7.0 attempts, averaging 36.5%, which could prove vital as the Tigers shot just 34% from beyond the arc last season — good for No. 176 nationally.
Additionally, Certa proved to be an extremely explosive scorer, especially in ACC play, logging 34 points against Virginia, 37 against Georgia Tech and 32 against NC State while leading the Fighting Irish to a 96-90 overtime win. He finished his final 11 games in conference play, averaging 19.5 points per game.
It’s also important to note that Certa can have a huge impact at the charity stripe, as he shot 89.2% on free throws — a vast difference from Clemson’s 72.5% average, No. 189 nationally, last season.
With a sharpshooter now in the fold, Brownell has one piece of his offseason puzzle secured, but there’s still more work to do.
The Tigers need to fill four more spots for next season, with the biggest needs in the frontcourt, as RJ Godfrey and Nick Davidson are gone, and Carter Welling will likely miss a majority of next season due to an ACL tear he suffered in the first round of the ACC tournament. It’s also possible that Brownell goes for another veteran guard with the losses of Jestin Porter and Dillon Hunter.
As of now, transfers who have shown the most interest in coming to Clemson, and vice versa, include Samford’s Dylan Faulkner, a four-star transfer, and San Francisco’s David Fuchs, a top-100 transfer power forward.
