NCAA Basketball: Top 25 offseason team winners from 2023 transfer portal

14. NC State Wolfpack

Incoming transfers: Michael O’Connell, Kam Woods, DJ Horne, Jayden Taylor, MJ Rice, Ben Middlebrooks, Mohamed Diarra

The Wolfpack made the NCAA Tournament last season but lost its star duo of Terquavion Smith and Jarkel Joiner. And forward Jack Clark’s departure is an underrated one as well. But the team added two big men to pair with returning big, D.J. Burns. Middlebrooks is a 6’10 forward from Clemson, while Diarra was in Missouri’s rotation last season. These two will allow NC State to play some big lineups if they so choose.

The other option is Rice, a former five-star prospect from Kansas. The 6’5 wing was injured last season and didn’t play as much but could be a breakout candidate to watch. And then there are the many guard newcomers, including Woods, who averaged 17.3 ppg at NC A&T but is the one person in the group that needs a waiver to play next season.

Taylor is a double-digit scorer from Butler, along with Horne from ASU. Both were go-to options from their respective stops so along with returning guard Casey Morsell can give a more balanced look on offense instead of relying on two guys like last season.

And in case the point guard position is in flux with those guys, look for O’Connell, who was the starting ball-handler at Stanford last season, to have a sizeable role as well. It’s a roster that can go a number of different ways depending on who works out at NC State.