Santa Clara transfer Christian Hammond commits to NC State

March 8, 2026; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Santa Clara Broncos guard Christian Hammond (1) dribbles the basketball against Pacific Tigers guard TJ Wainwright (10) during the first half at Orleans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

Former Santa Clara point guard Christian Hammond has committed to NC State out of the NCAA transfer portal, On3 has learned. Hammond will have two seasons of eligibility remaining.

Hammond averaged 15.6 points per game for the Broncos, including 3.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists. He started all 34 games he appeared in for Santa Clara en route to an NCAA Tournament appearance. That concluded with an overtime loss to Kentucky in the first round.

This followed a true freshman season where he played sparingly for the Broncos. He started two of the 19 games he appeared in during the 2024-25 season, averaging 12.4 minutes per game while averaging just 3.7 points.

Before college, Hammond was a three-star recruit in the 2024 recruiting class according to the Rivals Industry Rankings, which is a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services. He was the No. 272 overall player in his cycle as well as the No. 42 point guard.

However, by the time he entered the NCAA transfer portal two summers later, Hammond has turned into a top 50 transfer portal player. Now, he’s heading to NC State to be a part of the new regime under first-year head coach Justin Gainey.

He replaces Will Wade, who left to return to LSU after one year with the Wolfpack. Gainey has been on Rick Barnes’ staff at Tennessee since 2021 and moved up to associate head coach in 2022. He previously held that role at Marquette in 2020-21 after two seasons on the staff at Arizona from 2018-20.

Now, Hammond will join that effort in 2026. He’ll look to lead Gainey’s offense at the point once he arrives on campus.

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire. The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.