We’ve been talking about the transfer portal ever since NC State announced Justin Gainey as the head coach, but today it’s finally open.
First off, a few things are worth noting before we begin. Last year, Will Wade was announced on March 23, and the Transfer Portal opened the very next day. He didn’t hire his first staff members until March 31. That’s eight days after being hired and seven days after the portal opened. In other words, Wade was actively navigating the portal for a full week without a complete staff in place.
Right now, the only confirmed staff member is Riley Collins, the former assistant director of player development at Tennessee. The initial word was that he was going to potentially get an assistant role, but the wording on that was cleared up. He is joining with the idea of becoming an assistant. I’m guessing that doesn’t mean in year one.
Aside from that, the only staff intel out there is that Al Pinkins, who seemed very likely to join NC State over the weekend, is now likely out. It was announced that his son, Patton Pinkins, would be staying at Ole Miss, likely meaning Al would also be sticking around. This was one I personally was hoping to land. Pinkins not only opened a pipeline to Patton (who shot 42% from 3 last season), but also James Scott, the 6’9 athlete whom NC State was hot and heavy on last portal season. He left Louisville and ended up at Ole Miss. He’s from Fayetteville, NC, so I’d assume he’s still in play, but bringing Pinkins over would have likely increased those chances.
Tennessee combo guard Bishop Boswell has entered the transfer portal, and it’s no secret that NC State will be in the mix for him. In fact, we reported last week that a couple of their insiders were already talking about him likely entering with the intent of landing at NC State. Boswell is an ELITE defender. Like, one of the best on-ball guards in the country, and Gainey has made it clear that he is going to prioritize guys like Boswell. I think the question here is price and fit. How much does he want? How much is he going for on the open market, and how does NC State want to use him?I think Boswell wants lead guard duties, but is NC State willing to give those to him full-time? I think if they have the right pieces around him, they would. That means a more ball-dominant 2 guard and an elite shooter/scorer at the 3. Think Juke Harris and Paul McNeil Jr. I think that backcourt works well. Justin Gainey was a game manager-style PG, so I don’t think he’s necessarily going to be all in on a high-usage PG. However, if you miss on a guy like Juke and end up with someone less ball-dominant at the two, and couple them with McNeil at the 3, then you’re going to have a lot of the same issues you had in Keatts final season, with the game getting stagnant and nobody able to create any rim pressure.
That’s why I think NC State is going to give a look to another type of PG. One guy to keep an eye on is Preson Edmead of Hofstra. He’s a smaller, havoc-creating type guard that is near impossible to keep out of the paint. He’s 6’1, but is a pest with the basketball. He averaged 16 points and 4.4 assists while shooting 39% from 3. This kid is a spitting image of Ja’Kobi Gillespie (PG for Tennessee, who led them in scoring) and Zakai Zeigler (PG for Tennessee prior to Gillespie). These are small but tenacious guards who are lightning quick and can score it. This seemed to be the blueprint at lead guard for the Vols, and I wouldn’t be surprised for Gainey to try to replicate that. You haven’t heard his name on any of the other sites’ portal big boards, but that might change soon. He’s a rising sophomore with 3 years of eligibility. He entered the portal yesterday.
Hofstra freshman Preston Edmead (@PrestonEdmead) is entering the transfer portal, he tells me.
— Rising Ballers Network (@dylan_lutey) April 6, 2026
When NC State hired Gainey, the name everyone was focused on was Bishop Boswell, but we were told to keep an eye on JP Estrella. We did, and were the first to mention him in our intial Boswell piece. But on the Tennessee side, they were very confident the versatile 6’10 forward would not enter the portal. Well, lo and behold, yesterday he entered. This is a guy who averaged 10 points and 5 boards in just 18 minutes per game last year. He’s a guy that Gainey is familiar with at a premium position that NC State needs to fill. Landing JP early would be big because it would allow NC State to take some swings and get a little flexible with their front court. Estrella could handle the 4 or the 5 with ease, allowing State to either go with a more athletic, stretch 4, or try to get another 6’10 big to create a massive front line (something Tennessee loved to do). NC State will be involved here, but to what extent is yet to be seen. Price and fit will matter, but Gainey may opt for more familiarity in year one, meaning I believe we’ll see a couple of former Vols on this year’s roster (if not more).
Cole Cloer entered the portal a couple of days ago, but we’re told he’s in there to see what the market for him looks like and what roles are being offered to him. Obviously, he wants to play, and I don’t think a starting role was really going to be promised to him at NC State with a first-year coach who needs to prove himself in year one. I know NC State is hoping they can keep him for the right price, but it will depend on how State’s roster shakes out and how much Cloer can get on the open market. I do believe his desire is to stay at State if he can have a rotation role and comparable money to what’s being offered in the portal.
Matt Able entered the portal and will declare for the NBA draft. If Wade had stayed, Able was gone. Adding Gainey bought some time, but in the end, this was always going to be where this story went. The kid wants a big role, big money, and has an outspoken group around him that believes he needs time at PG. NC State is almost surely not going to be in the mix for next season here in Raleigh.
Paul McNeil Jr still hasn’t indicated which way he’s going to go. I’ve heard he is hoping to stay in Raleigh, but a lot will depend on what the price is on the open market. I know 2.5M has been the number coming from the LSU side of things, but I’ve also heard Paul isn’t going to follow Wade. It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out. NC State 100% wants him back and is willing to pay big, but not sure they have the money to pay him what some of the richer programs would pay. The hope for NC State is he wants to play near home, and Gainey locks down a bunch of these 2024 class NC kids who Paul grew up playing with/against. Could be a good situation where he’s getting close to top dollar, but also giving a tiny hometown discount. If he returns, NC State fans will crown him, and he’ll be a legend in Raleigh/NC for a long time. That said, I wouldn’t lose my mind if he does declare for the portal but follow Cloer’s lead and explains he is open to returning to NC State.
Colt Langdon is either in or about to be in the transfer portal. He came from Butler last year and didn’t have a role with Will Wade’s Wolfpack squad. He’ll likely drop down a level and showcase what he can do before trying to come back to a P4 school.
Mikey Wilkins, NC State’s 6’9 redshirt freshman, hasn’t indicated what he’ll do. NC State may want to make him a cheap offer to be a backup big, but it will depend on how rosters shake out. I believe he’s another guy who wants to stay in Raleigh, but he may end up looking for a team that wants to take a flyer on a really skilled, back-to-the-basket big. He was Keatts’ answer to recreating the DJ Burns factor. Very skilled, but not super athletic and definitely not a rim protector type. I believe Gainey will be looking for those rim protectors in the portal, so not sure where Wilkins would fit in.
Freddie Dilione V is another guy to watch. I think everyone assumes he’s for sure coming to State since he’s a Fayetteville, NC kid, and he averaged 14 points last season for Penn State. I’m not so confident in that assessment. I do think he’s on the radar and a guy Gainey might look at, but I believe if we land Dilione, it will signal that we missed on another target. I could be wrong, but based on what I’m hearing and seeing, that’s the vibe I’m getting. I think it has more to do with fit and his ‘going rate’ than anything else. With how the portal works, I wouldn’t be surprised if he does end up here, as I think he’d be interested in coming home.
Dylan Mingo may be another (high-priced) option for NC State after UNC hired Malone yesterday. Zayton High is gone to the portal, and so is most of their backcourt. NC State recruited Mingo extremely hard this past season, and NC State was on a few of his finalist lists, but with the coaching change, who knows if NC State would still be considered and if Gainey would even be interested in handing the reins to a freshman PG.
I’m going to leave the rest of the centers alone right now. NC State has got to kind of let this market cool down with the bigs. There are only a handful of teams that have $12M+ NIL and there are about 10 bigs in the portal who are saying they want $3M+. Some of these guys haven’t even sniffed 10pts and 6 boards in a season. The names to watch in my opinion, are Najai Hines from Seton Hall. He’s a Garner, NC kid who profiles as a Gainey type. Physical, massive, skilled.
Eyes on two spring 4 guys. If NC State opts to go with an above-the-rim 4 man, look out for James Scott (Ole Miss) or Siddiq White (Syracuse), but 6’9 athletes with NC roots who can protect the rim a bit as well. White is more of a Gainey-style dog, but Scott was targeted last year by Wade and had NC State as a finalist before choosing Ole Miss. He went off in the SEC tournament, which coincided with Ole Miss playing their best basketball of the season.
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