Syracuse basketball reaches out to transfer forwards at Florida State and Monmouth

Syracuse basketball coaches have made contact with transfer forwards from fellow Atlantic Coast Conference school Florida State and Coastal Athletic Association member Monmouth, according to multiple media reports.

Per top recruiting analyst Sam Kayser of 24/7 High School Hoops, the Orange has reached out to FSU sophomore forward Jerry Deng, who has also heard from potential college suitors such as Kansas State, Memphis, Mississippi State, Virginia, Ole Miss, Rutgers, Georgia Tech and Penn State.

The 6-foot-9, 220-pound Deng, who was born in Rochester, N.Y., averaged 15.4 minutes, 7.0 points and 1.9 rebounds per contest in the 2024-25 season for the Seminoles (17-15 overall), per ESPN statistics, and he made 43.4 percent from the field, 37.0 percent from beyond the arc and 71.0 percent from the free-throw line.

Syracuse basketball coaches have reached out to numerous college transfers this off-season.

According to a post on X from the account The Portal Report, Monmouth redshirt sophomore forward Jaret Valencia has also heard from the 'Cuse staff, along with teams such as SMU, Miami, Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt, Rutgers, St. Bonaventure, Oregon State and DePaul, among others.

The 6-foot-9, 190-pound Valencia is originally from Quibdó, Colombia. In 2024-25 for Monmouth (13-20 overall), according to ESPN, he averaged 22.9 minutes, 6.7 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per affair while connecting on 44.0 percent from the field, 34.1 percent from 3-point land and 60.0 percent from the charity stripe.

The current transfer portal window runs through April 22. So far this off-season, the Orange has secured at least two pledges via the portal, from Oregon State redshirt junior guard/wing Nate Kingz and UCLA power forward/center William Kyle lll.

Based on guys having exhausted their eligibility or deciding to transfer out of the 'Cuse program, Syracuse basketball coaches currently have eight players on their 2025-26 roster, with seven scholarships still available.

According to reports and recruiting analysts, other college transfers who have heard from the Orange this off-season include Georgia Tech sophomore point guard Naithan George, Arizona sophomore guard KJ Lewis, Cal State Northridge senior small forward Keonte Jones, UNLV sophomore point guard Dedan Thomas Jr., Dayton redshirt junior point guard Malachi Smith, Georgia sophomore guard Silas Demary Jr., Arkansas State junior guard Derrian Ford, Clemson freshman guard Del Jones, Robert Morris junior guard/forward Amarion Dickerson, North Dakota junior guard Treysen Eaglestaff, North Dakota State senior guard Jacari White and Drexel junior guard Kobe Magee.