According to Evan Daniels of 247Sports, NC State is one of the schools that has reached out to Little Rock Graduate Transfer Rayjon Tucker (6’5″/210).
The new schools to reach out to Little Rock transfer Rayjon Tucker are Gonzaga, Oklahoma State, Boston College, NC State, Michigan, Tennessee USC, Seton Hall and Oregon.
Tucker was a 3-star prospect at Northside Christian Academy (Charlotte, NC) in the 2015 recruiting class. Rivals ranked him as the #123 overall player in 2015, and 247Sports ranked him as the #2 player in the state of North Carolina. Prior to committing to FGCU, Tucker also held offers from Clemson, Auburn, Boston College, Virginia Tech, VCU, UNCG, Wofford and others.
He spent his first two years as a member of Florida Gulf Coast. He primarily came off the bench during his two years down in Fort Myers, but shot 41.7% from beyond the arch.
After his Sophomore season, Tucker decided to transfer to Little Rock, and sat out the 2017-18 season due to NCAA transfer rules. In his 1 season in Arkansas, Tucker broke out.
Tucker earned 2nd Team All-Sun Belt honors this year, leading the Trojans in scoring with 20.3 points per game, shooting a clean 41.1% from three-point land. He also averaged 6.7 rebounds per game.
As we are all aware of, NC State has been a hub for Graduate Transfers in recent history:
2018-19 – Eric Lockett & Wyatt Walker
2017-18 – Allerik Freeman & Sam Hunt
Don’t get it confused…he’s not only a 3-point artist.
Nothing to see here just 6’5” Guard Rayjon Tucker touching OVER 12’4” on his running vertical leap 😱😱
The dynamic backcourt that took the Wolfpack to their first Final Four since 1998 returns. Aziaha James (16.8 PPG), Saniya Rivers (12.5 PPG) and Zoe Brooks (9.0 PPG) are enough to keep NC State near the top of a highly competitive ACC. How well a new mix of bigs fits in will determine if the Wolfpack are good enough to win the conference and contend for a trip to Tampa. The experience of River Baldwin and Mimi Collins can’t be replaced, so how well 6-5 recruit Lorena Awou adapts to the college game and 6-4 Boston University transfer Caitlin Weimar, the Patriot League player of the year and two-time defensive player of the year, adjusts to the upgrade in competition will have a big impact on NC State’s season. Previous ranking: 8
NC State does have 1 scholarship available, and could still add a player out of the Transfer Portal. With that being said, the roster for the Men’s Basketball team is pretty much set for the 2024-25 season.
Non-graduates had to enter the Transfer Portal by April 30th, and Graduates had to enter by May 1st. Jayden Taylor and Michael O’Connell both made public announcements that they were returning, but the closure of entrance to the Portal means that Breon Pass, Ben Middlebrooks, Dennis Parker Jr. and MJ Rice are all set to return next season.
In a world where the Transfer Portal has all but become free agency in College Basketball, with some players switching schools on an annual basis, it’s encouraging that Kevin Keatts not only recruited a Top-10 Transfer Class, but also recruited a majority of the eligible players to stay. Three players that could transfer entered the Portal (I’m not counting Mohamed Diarra in these numbers, who opted to go pro), while 6 opted to continue running with the Wolfpack.
As a result, below is a breakdown of the roster for the NC State Men’s Basketball team heading into 2024-25, realizing the Wolfpack could still add one player (this team is deep).
1 year of Eligibility
Guard Michael O’Connell
Guard Marcus Hill
Guard Breon Pass
Guard/Forward Jayden Taylor
Forward/Guard Dontrez Styles
Forward Ben Middlebrooks
Center Brandon Huntley-Hatfield
2 Years of Eligibility
Guard/Forward MJ Rice
Guard Mike James
Guard Jordan Snell (Walk-On)
Guard KJ Keatts (Walk-On)
NC State’s Men’s Basketball team has picked up 4 players from the Transfer Portal this offseason, and the class ranks 10th nationally according to ON3, and 15th nationally according to 247Sports.
Andy Katz is beginning to make his rounds for his Offseason Convo series, and he took the time to meet with NC State Head Coach Kevin Keatts.
In their conversation, Keatts talked about what this run has meant to Raleigh and the Wolfpack fans, how it has helped sell the program the way it deserves to be in recruiting, and even how it helped and hurt in the world of the Transfer Portal.
Wyatt Walker wasn’t a graduate transfer – he was a regular transfer.