Syracuse basketball, UConn among those showing interest in 4-star transfer guard

Syracuse basketball and a host of blue-blood programs are showing an interest in Furman freshman guard Alex Wilkins, who averaged nearly 18 points per game this past season and played in the NCAA Tournament.

According to a post on X from The Portal Report, the 6-foot-5, 175-pound Wilkins has heard from the Orange and many other college programs since the transfer portal opened on Tuesday (it will run through April 21).

Other teams that have reached out to Wilkins include Alabama, UConn, Houston, Baylor, Texas, SMU, Kentucky, Miami, Arkansas, Kansas, Illinois and Vanderbilt, among others.

Syracuse basketball is taking a look at a 4-star transfer guard from the Boston area.

Wilkins hails from Mattapan, Mass., a neighborhood in Boston. In the 2025-26 campaign, as a freshman for Southern Conference member Furman, he averaged 29.7 minutes, 17.8 points, 4.7 assists and 2.0 rebounds per contest while making 46.0 percent from the field, 32.8 percent from 3-point land and 82.4 percent from the free-throw line.

He was named to the All-Southern Conference second team. This past term, Furman went 22-13 overall. As a No. 15 seed in the Big Dance, the Paladins put a scare into No. 2 seed and eventual national runner-up UConn in the first round, with Wilkins dropping 21 points on the Huskies.

In national transfer rankings from 247Sports, Wilkins is rated as four stars, No. 37 overall and No. 7 at combo guard. In transfer ratings from the industry-generated On3 Industry Ranking, he is four stars, No. 33 nationally and No. 9 at shooting guard.

Here's the latest with Syracuse basketball's 2026-27 roster. Three guys from last season have exhausted their eligibility. At least seven players have entered the transfer portal. We're waiting on decisions from freshman guard Kiyan Anthony and redshirt senior small forward Nate Kingz, who would need a waiver from the NCAA to play in the upcoming stanza.

Freshman forward Sadiq White Jr. is returning. The Orange has secured commitments from Siena sophomore guard Gavin Doty, a four-star transfer prospect, Siena junior power forward/center Tasman Goodrick and Slovenian wing Mark Morano Mahmutovič, a four-star player in the 2026 class.

This offseason, through the portal and other recruiting avenues, Syracuse basketball head coach Gerry McNamara and his staff will pursue a starting point guard, a starting center and plenty of other back-court and front-court players. The 'Cuse can have up to 15 scholarship players on its 2026-27 roster.