Clemson lands big target in NCAA transfer portal

The Clemson Tigers and coach Brad Brownell have added a big piece to their 2026 transfer portal class.

Dylan Faulkner, a 6-foot-9, 215-pound forward who transferred from Samford, committed to the Tigers on Friday, a source told On3. Faulkner earned First Team All-Conference honors as a junior with the Bulldogs last season and averaged 17.2 points, 8.6 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game.

Earlier this week, Clemson basketball added former Samford assistant coach Tyler Murray as its general manager.

On3 rated Faulkner a four-star transfer portal recruit and the 188th overall best player available nationally. He will be a senior in 2026-27 after spending two seasons at Lipscomb and one at Samford. Faulkner started all 30 games with the Bulldogs last season and averaged 19.3 minutes.

He scored a season-high 27 points on Feb. 21 against Mercer and had nine games with at least 20 points this past season. Faulkner had 11 double-doubles with Samford.

Clemson makes second splash in transfer portal after landing Notre Dame sharpshooter

Faulkner joins shooting guard Cole Certa, a consensus top 100 transfer portal player and previously a four-star recruit in the class of 2024, as players Clemson has added to its roster this week. Certa averaged almost 13 points per game this past season and appeared in all 31 games for the Fighting Irish.

Certa shot 37.4 percent from the field and 36.7 percent from beyond the arc. He was an 89 percent shooter from the free-throw line.

Clemson finished 24-11 overall this past season and was 12-6 in ACC play. The Tigers reached the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive season but fell to the Iowa Hawkeyes in the first round in Tampa, Florida.

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