How busy of an offseason has it been for Brad Brownell and Clemson basketball? There has been so much roster movement that everyone's heads are probably still spinning.
We all knew that Chase Hunter, Ian Schieffelin, Jaeden Zackery, and Viktor Lakhin were set to graduate but no one quite saw the transfer portal exodus that we've seen so far. Four different players have hit the transfer portal so far since Clemson was eliminated from the NCAA Tournament last week and that means that the roster is surprisingly thing.
Del Jones, Asa Thomas, Chauncey Wiggins, and now Jake Heidbreder have all officially hit the portal and that leaves two players who didn't redshirt this season returning for next year.
In fact, Dillon Hunter, Christian Reeves, Ace Buckner, and Dallas Thomas are the only returning players from this year's roster with three incoming freshmen. And Buckner and Thomas both redshirted this season which means that Clemson returns 6.6 points from this past season for next year from a team that averaged 76.3 points.
With Jake Heidbreder hitting the portal, Clemson has 4 players left from last year's roster:
— Jon Blau (@Jon_Blau) March 27, 2025
-G Dillon Hunter
-C Christian Reeves
-G Ace Buckner (redshirt)
-F Dallas Thomas (redshirt)
Plus three incoming freshmen: G Zac Foster, F Chase Thompson, C Trent Steinour
Six spots open.
Just a shocking amount of attrition for the Tigers and it means that this may be the most important offseason for Brownell and Co.
Returing four guys who combined for 6.6 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 27.6 minutes per game is not a recipe for success and Brownell knows that. Now we know why the Tigers are reaching out to so many players in the transfer portal.
If Clemson can land 4-5 portal veterans, this team can avoid a massive rebuild, but as of right now, it's looking like it may be a step-back season for the Tigers in 2025-26.