Clemson basketball adds MTSU scoring guard Jestin Porter from transfer portal for 2025
Porter averaged 15 points, shooting 41.1% from the field and 36.4% from 3-point range, in 34 games as a starter with the Blue Raiders last season. He has one year of eligibility remaining, joining guard Efrem "Butta" Johnson and forwards Nick Davidson, Carter Welling, RJ Godfrey and Jake Wahlin.
Advertisement
Porter, 6-foot-1, spent three seasons with Middle Tennessee after spending two years at Tyler Junior College. He is a volume 3-point shooter, taking more than 200 3's last season, and is a capable defender, averaging 1.1 steals. He will be a candidate to start alongside Dillon Hunter or provide key minutes off the bench.
With Porter's commitment, Clemson has filled all 13 scholarship roster spots. If the pending House settlement passes in April, college basketball rosters will expand to 15.
In addition to the six transfers and Hunter, the Tigers have redshirt freshman forward Dallas Thomas and guard Ace Buckner, and four incoming freshmen: guard Zac Foster and forwards Chase Thompson, Trent Steinour and Blake Davidson for the 2025-26 roster.
FOLLOW ALONG: Clemson basketball transfer portal tracker 2025: Who's in, who's out for Brad Brownell
Advertisement
Clemson lost key contributors to expiring eligibility, including guard Chase Hunter and forward Ian Schieffelin, and to the portal, like forward Chauncey Wiggins and guard Del Jones.
Clemson will look to reach the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive season for the first time since 2007-08 through 2009-10.
Derrian Carter covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at dcarter@gannett.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DerrianCarter00
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Clemson basketball lands Middle Tennessee transfer guard Jestin Porter
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Yahoo
Florida basketball coach Todd Golden ranked No. 10 in Top 50 coaches list. Is that too low?
College Basketball Report released its Top 50 coaches in college basketball on August 14. Coming off leading Florida basketball to a national championship, Florida basketball coach Todd Golden cracked the top 10 of the list at No. 10. Overall, Golden is 76-33 in three seasons with the Florida Gators, with two NCAA Tournament appearances. At 39 years old last April, Golden became the youngest coach since the late Jim Valvano in 1983 to win a national title when he guided UF to a dramatic 65-63 win over Houston in the 2025 national title game. Of the nine coaches ranked ahead of Golden, only three have won national championships. Dan Hurley, ranked No. 1, led UConn to back-to-back national titles in 2023 and 2024. Rick Pitino, at No. 4, led Kentucky to a national title in 1996 and Louisville to a national championship in 2013. Bill Self, at No. 6, led Kansas to national titles in 2008 and 2022. Nate Oats, who led Alabama to one Final Four in 2024 and Bruce Pearl, who led Auburn to Final Fours in 2019 and 2025, are ranked seventh and eighth. Golden is 4-2 head-to-head against Oats and 3-2 head-to-head against Pearl. Given those results, Golden should probably be ranked at least ahead of Oats, if not Pearl, and closer to the top five range. Of course, Golden will get a chance to further cement his status as an elite coach in 2025-26, with starting foward Alex Condon, starting center Rueben Chinyelu and star sixth man Thomas Haugh returning in an effort to defend UF's national title. UF opens the 2025-26 season against Arizona in Las Vegas, Nev., on Nov, 3. Kevin Brockway is The Gainesville Sun's Florida beat writer. Contact him at kbrockway@ Follow him on X @KevinBrockwayG1. Read his coverage of the Gators' national championship basketball season in 'CHOMP-IONS!' — a hardcover coffee-table collector's book from The Sun. Details at This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Florida basketball coach Todd Golden ranked in Top 10 in national coaches list
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Yahoo
College football Top 25: Can No. 1 Clemson get back to the pinnacle after 14 losses in the last 4 seasons?
College football officially begins this month. Now that it's mid-August, there's just over a week until Kansas State and Iowa State meet in Dublin to begin the 2025 regular season. And since the season is quickly approaching, we're rolling out our preseason Top 25. It all culminates with the reveal of our No. 1 team. (All odds are from BetMGM.) Previously: Nos. 11 through 25, No. 10 Miami, No. 9 Alabama, No. 8 Notre Dame, No. 7 LSU, No. 6 Ohio State, No. 5 Georgia, No. 4 Oregon, No. 3 Texas, No. 2 Penn State No. 1 Clemson 2024 record: 10-4 National championship odds: +900 Odds to make College Football Playoff: -200 [Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2025 NFL season] 2024 in 100 words Clemson went from looking like a team that wasn't going to make the College Football Playoff in Week 1 to one that made the College Football Playoff. The Tigers got blown out 34-3 by Georgia to start the season for a third Week 1 defeat in the last four seasons. Clemson then reeled off six straight wins before a home loss to Louisville put the Tigers in real playoff danger. However, thanks to Miami's loss at Syracuse — and Clemson winning the final three games of its ACC season — the Tigers got into the ACC title game and took down SMU thanks to a last-second 56-yard field goal by Nolan Hauser. However, Clemson's season ended much like it began; with a defeat to an SEC school. Texas beat Clemson 38-24 in the first round of the College Football Playoff. The quarterback Cade Klubnik Klubnik's rebound from 2023 to 2024 was remarkable. Klubnik took over as Clemson's starting quarterback at the end of the 2022 season and had high expectations entering 2023 with offensive coordinator Garrett Riley coming over from TCU. The Horned Frogs had made the national championship game in 2022 after averaging 6.7 yards per play and scoring 39 points per game. The change in offensive philosophies took a while to click. Clemson averaged 5.2 yards a play in 2023 and went 9-4. It was the first time since 2010 that the Tigers had won fewer than 10 games, and a lot of that had to do with a passing offense that simply couldn't get going. Klubnik threw for 2,844 yards and 19 TDs with nine interceptions while averaging just 6.3 yards a throw. His numbers skyrocketed in 2024, even after that dreadful start to the season. Klubnik threw for 3,639 yards and 36 TDs while throwing three fewer interceptions. He threw the ball downfield more successfully and more often — Klubnik averaged 2.2 more air yards per throw in 2024 than he did in 2023 — and became a serious threat with his legs too. Klubnik rushed for 463 yards and seven scores, and he even scored the game-winning TD against Pitt on Nov. 16 with a 50-yard dash. Klubnik's breakout in 2024 means he enters the 2025 season as the co-No. 2 favorite for the Heisman alongside LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier. And guess what? LSU and Clemson square off in Week 1. The QB for the winning team in that game could even become the early season Heisman favorite depending on how Arch Manning and Texas do against Ohio State. Non-QB to watch LB Sammy Brown Brown made just six starts but was one of the most impactful players on Clemson's defense as a true freshman in 2024. Brown was second on the team with 80 tackles and had five sacks to go along with 6.5 other tackles for loss. He became just the seventh Clemson player ever to have 10 or more tackles for loss as a true freshman. Brown returns to team with senior Wade Woodaz to patrol the second level of Clemson's defense. Brown could easily be a first-team All-American by the end of the season and a household name if Clemson makes a deep College Football Playoff run. Best position group Wide receiver The offense struggled in 2023 as Clemson didn't have the talent and experience on the outside to make the passing game effective. Riley worked with NFL players like Quentin Johnston, Derius Davis and Savion Williams with the Horned Frogs. That quality simply wasn't there at Clemson. Now it is. Antonio Williams emerged as one of the best receivers in the country as a sophomore in 2024 with 75 catches for 904 yards and 11 TDs. FreshmanTJ Moore averaged 14.5 yards a catch and grabbed five TDs, while Bryant Wesco Jr. had 17.3 yards per grab as a freshman. All three players are back in 2025 and the receiving room adds Southeast Missouri State transfer Tristan Smith. The 6-foot-5 receiver had 934 yards at the FCS level in 2024. There aren't many secondaries in the ACC that will be able to reliably cover this group. Biggest game Nov. 14 at Louisville Are the two bookends against SEC opponents bigger? Possibly, especially when considering Clemson's recent struggles against teams from the Southeastern Conference. However, the Tigers got into the playoff last year via the ACC's automatic berth despite two losses to SEC opponents in the regular season, and they can easily do that again if things don't go as well as we think. That's why the trip to Louisville on a Friday night late in the season makes this category. It comes on a short week for the Tigers after a home game against Florida State and is also the last ACC game of the season. That win vs. Pitt was Clemson's last game of the ACC season in 2024, and the Tigers were left needing help from either Miami or SMU over the final two weeks of the season to win the league title. It's a situation that Clemson does not want to be in again in 2025. Why Clemson is No. 1 You don't have to look to far to find why Clemson hasn't been up to its national-title standards over the last few seasons. The offense hasn't averaged over 40 points per game in any of the last four seasons and the defense has allowed more yards per carry and points per game over the last three seasons compared to previous, more successful squads. But this is the Tigers' best shot to replicate that late-2010s success. This team is loaded and it doesn't have to navigate a conference schedule like many in the SEC and Big Ten. The biggest roster question the Tigers have is at running back. Phil Mafah was the only Clemson running back to post more than 300 yards in 2024 and he's now with the Cowboys. Jay Haynes (295 yards) averaged nearly seven yards a carry in his limited playing time in 2024 and could compete for the starting job with freshman Gideon Davidson. The four-star recruit was the No. 4 RB prospect in the class of 2024 and the top recruit in the state of Virginia. With four starters back on a very experienced offensive line, there shouldn't be a drop-off in the run game. Clemson's roster continuity means that nine starters are back on defense. The star is TJ Parker, who had 11 sacks and 8.5 tackles for loss as a sophomore in 2024. He could be the top edge rusher taken in the 2026 NFL Draft with another double-digit sack season. Having a No. 2 pass rusher to complement Parker will also go a long way; no other player had more than Brown's five sacks last season. Head coach Dabo Swinney said in early August that it's now a race to be the first 16-0 team at the top level of college football and he believes his team can do it. While the odds of Clemson — or any other team for that matter — going undefeated in so many games are extremely slim, we think Clemson has the best chance of anyone in 2025 of accomplishing that feat.
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Yahoo
Texas Longhorns officially No. 1 in AP Preseason Top 25
It is a clean sweep! The AP Top 25 Preseason Poll has ranked the Texas Longhorns as the No. 1 team in the country. Last week, the No. 1 team in the US LBM Coaches Poll in the US LBM Coaches Poll. This is the first time in UT program history it is No. 1 in the preseason AP poll. Texas in the top spot is the biggest similarity between the polls. Penn State jumps Ohio State to take the No. 2 spot in the AP Top 25. The Buckeyes are ranked second in the Coaches Poll. Clemson is in the top five in the AP Poll. The Tigers are No. 6 in the Coaches Poll. The Florida Gators are ranked higher in AP, No. 15 as opposed the 17th. And the Oklahoma Sooners are ranked No. 18 in the nation in AP. The Sooners are unranked in the Coaches Poll. The SEC has an astounding 10 teams ranked in the 2025 preseason AP Poll. Georgia checks in at No. 5 and the Aggies jump two spots from the Coaches Poll to No. 19. The Big Ten has six teams in the ranking, including No. 2 and No. 3 in Penn State and Ohio State. The ACC has three ranked teams, including SMU at No. 16. The Big 12 has four ranked teams. Texas Tech checks in at No. 23. Preseason AP Top 25 Rank Team Points Final Rank 2024 1 Texas 1,552 (25) 4 2 Penn State 1,547 (23) 5 3 Ohio State 1,472 (11) 1 4 Clemson 1,398 (4) 14 5 Georgia 1,331 (1) 6 6 Notre Dame 1,325 2 7 Oregon 1,236 (1) 3 8 Alabama 1,179 17 9 LSU 1,174 NR 10 Miami (FL) 889 18 11 Arizona State 791 7 12 Illinois 713 16 13 South Carolina 667 19 14 Michigan 662 NR 15 Florida 626 NR 16 SMU 565 12 17 Kansas State 512 NR 18 Oklahoma 463 NR 19 Texas A&M 434 NR 20 Indiana 423 10 21 Ole Miss 370 11 22 Iowa State 309 15 23 Texas Tech 274 NR 24 Tennessee 192 9 25 Boise State 191 8 Others Receiving Votes: BYU 156, Utah 144, Baylor 132, Louisville 90, Southern Cal 64, Georgia Tech 63, Missouri 33, Tulane 23, Nebraska 23, UNLV 21, Toledo 13, Auburn 10, James Madison 9, Memphis 9, Florida St. 8, Duke 6, Liberty 5, Navy 5, Iowa 5, TCU 4, Pittsburgh 3, Army 2, Colorado 1, Louisiana-Lafayette 1. This article originally appeared on Longhorns Wire: AP Preseason Top 25 ranks Texas Longhorns No. 1 in the nation
