Brad Brownell put in massive amounts of work this offseason in the transfer portal. He lost basically his entire roster to the transfer portal, the NBA Draft process, or football (looking at you, Ian Schieffelin), but he made up for those losses with a slew of talented transfers.
The veteran head coach landed guys like Nick Davidson, Efrem Johnson, Jake Wahlin, Jestin Porter, RJ Godfrey, and Carter Welling and expected them to gel all summer.
That's already been happening as these guys are hanging out off the court and developing a rapport with one another. Heck, three of these newcomers even hit the water and bonded over some fishing last month. Brownell has to be happy about the team's growing chemistry.
Chemistry is important, but so is the team's health.
And unfortunately, the injury bug has already hit one of the newcomers, said Brownell during a recent radio show appearance where he previewed his new-look roster.
On the radio with Walt Deptula this week, Clemson coach Brad Brownell said forward Carter Welling had a foot surgery and he'll be out all summer.
— Jon Blau (@Jon_Blau) June 12, 2025
He should be back, Brownell said, at some point in September.
Welling is one of the more exciting additions with a high ceiling and the fact that he's going to miss the entire summer of potential development heading into his first season with Clemson is a tough pill to swallow for fans and most definitely the coaching staff. This is a prime time for offseason development, but it's good that this is happening now instead of during the season.
There will be some catching up needed by Welling to be on the same page as his teammates when he returns to action in September, but luckily he should have a month or two of practice and prep before the Tigers begin the 2025-26 regular season.
A tough break for sure, but Welling should be back at full strength for the 2025-26 season.