Two transfer forwards who received some level of interest from Syracuse basketball coaches have, in recent days, made their future collegiate destinations known.
One is four-star Jerry Deng, a sophomore forward at Florida State who was born in Rochester, N.Y. Per his X page, the 6-foot-9, 220-pound Deng is heading to fellow Atlantic Coast Conference squad N.C. State.
Wolfpack Nation let’s work!!🐺🐺#committed #gopack ❤️🖤 pic.twitter.com/BRFqQXOkg7
— Jerry Deng (@J15clip) April 25, 2025
The other is Monmouth redshirt sophomore forward Jaret Valencia, who is originally from Quibdó, Colombia. According to his X page, the 6-foot-9, 190-pound Valencia has committed to Wichita State out of the American Athletic Conference.
I'm wishing all the success in the world to Jerry and Jaret!
Syracuse basketball has added at least five transfers to its 2025-26 roster.
The transfer portal window in college hoops closed on April 22, although players just had to be in the portal by that date. Thus, we could see the Orange staff secure more commitments from other transfers in the coming weeks or months.
Deng, in the 2024-25 season, averaged 15.4 minutes, 7.0 points and 1.9 rebounds per contest for FSU. Top recruiting analyst Sam Kayser of 24/7 High School Hoops had reported that Syracuse basketball was among the schools to reach out to Deng after he entered the portal.
I came across some speculation in chat rooms and elsewhere that Deng may have recently taken a visit to the 'Cuse, but I never saw anything officially reported on that topic. Regardless, he'll be competing in the ACC in the upcoming 2025-26 term.
Valencia, meanwhile, had visited Wichita State and then, a few days ago, he made a trip to Central New York to visit Syracuse basketball, per his Instagram page. In 2024-25, for Monmouth, Valencia averaged 22.9 minutes, 6.7 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game.
This off-season, the Orange has secured commitments from at least five transfers. They are Oregon State redshirt junior guard/wing Nate Kingz, UCLA junior power forward/center William Kyle lll, Georgia Tech sophomore point guard Naithan George, Montana State junior guard Bryce Zephir and Georgia Tech redshirt freshman big man Ibrahim Souare.
On Saturday afternoon, the 'Cuse 2025 recruiting class via the portal was No. 19 on the On3 Web site and No. 35 on the 247Sports Web site.
The Syracuse basketball 2025-26 roster currently includes two returnees from last season, four high school signees, and five college transfers. As such, the Orange has 11 scholarship players and four scholarships still available.