Another Important Player Is Lost to Transfer Portal for Clemson Men’s Basketball

The Clemson Tigers men’s basketball team had one of its best seasons in years, but it’s not stopping players from testing the transfer portal.

Clemson guard Jake Heidbreder entered the transfer portal on Thursday, as reported by The State and several other outlets. He joins four other Tigers in the portal as of this writing.

The other four Tigers in the portal are guard Del Jones, center Jackson Roberts, guard Asa Thomas and forward Chauncey Wiggins.

Heidbreder transferred to Clemson from Air Force before the 2023-24 season but redshirted. While with the Falcons he averaged more than 12 points and scored 1,037 points in his sophomore season.

With the Tigers he averaged 4.1 points in 32 games, all off the bench. He has one year of eligibility remaining.

Clemson has four holdover players — guard Dillon Hunter, forward Dallas Thomas, guard Ace Buckner and center Christian Reeves.

The Tigers also expect their three signees to join the program — guard Zac Foster (Atlanta, Ga./Woodward Academy), forward Chase Thompson (Glenwood, Minn./Alexandria Area) and forward/center Trent Steinour (Mooresville, N.C./Lake Norman).

That leaves the Tigers with seven committed scholarships out of the 15 they’ll have access to next season, assuming the House vs. NCAA settlement is approved. With approval, each basketball program will be limited to 15 scholarships.

Clemson (27-7) is coming off a 69-67 loss to the McNeese State Cowboys in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, a disappointing early exit for a program coming off a trip to the Elite Eight last season.

The Tigers finished in a tie for second in the ACC in the regular season and lost to Louisville in the ACC semifinals.

Clemson coach Brad Brownell is reportedly set to get a contract extension, even though the Tigers left the tournament early. He is now the winningest coach in Tigers history and has more than 450 career wins.

His program is picking steam. He has taken the Tigers to the NCAA Tournament three times in the last five seasons. Clemson has also had three straight 20-win seasons, a first for Brownell in his 15 seasons. He’s had seven 20-win seasons during his tenure. The program’s Elite Eight appearance in 2024 was its first since 1980.