As Syracuse basketball endures arguably its worst season dating back to the late 1960s, second-year head coach Adrian Autry says he's confident that the Orange will fare well as it relates to recruiting via the transfer portal this coming off-season.
The 'Cuse will host Virginia on Saturday night in the 2024-25 regular-season finale before heading to the ACC Tournament in Charlotte, N.C., next week. Barring a miraculous run to the ACC Tournament title, the Orange (12-18, 6-13 in the ACC) will miss the NCAA Tournament for the fourth straight term.
In an interview on Thursday with Steve Infanti and Paulie Scibilia on the ESPN Radio Syracuse program "Orange Nation," Autry acknowledged that 2024-25 has proven a disappointment and that the team's expectations for the current season "didn't come to fruition."
Autry noted that his program's performance in 2024-25 is, without question, weighing on him. "I want to win more than anyone else."
Syracuse Orange athletics director John Wildhack, who also spoke on Thursday with Infanti and Scibilia on "Orange Nation," confirmed that Autry will be back as the 'Cuse head coach in 2025-26. Wildhack said rather bluntly of the squad's record this term, "We're not okay with this. Period."
John Wildhack confirms that Adrian Autry will return as Syracuse men's basketball head coach next season.
— Cuse Sports Talk (@CuseSportsTalk_) March 6, 2025
Watch the full interview today at 12:15pm ET on https://t.co/X1BTqf77f2.
That being said, both Wildhack and Autry say they're confident that Syracuse basketball can turn things around, given future revenue-sharing, a new three-year, $50 million fund-raising campaign launched by SU Athletics, and enhanced name, image and likeness ("NIL") efforts.
To that end, the SU athletics director and the Syracuse basketball head coach noted that one key arena for the program is to recruit at a high level this coming off-season in the transfer portal.
Syracuse basketball head coach Adrian Autry dishes on this season and transfer portal recruiting.
It remains to be seen which 2024-25 players who have eligibility left will return to the Orange next season or decide to hit the portal. At the prep level, Syracuse basketball has a four-member 2025 class that includes a trio of four-star prospects and ranks in the top 10 nationally, per the industry-generated 247Sports Composite.
Given the transfer portal's explosion in recent years, for the Orange to get back to where it once was, competing for league titles and deep March Madness runs, it will have to perform better with its portal recruiting.
In late June of last year, the 'Cuse made an important hire, bringing on board former NBA scout Alex Kline as its general manager. Since he was officially hired over the summer, he didn't get to make an impact on the roster construction of the Orange's 2024-25 roster.
However, Wildhack and Autry say that Kline will be paramount to the team's recruiting out of the portal in the coming off-season. With Kline and other staff members on board, Autry says he believes that Syracuse basketball is "way more prepared" to hit the ground running and succeed in portal recruiting than in prior years.
Wildhack says that he thinks Kline "will have a significant impact" regarding the Orange's portal recruiting and roster construction for 2025-26.
The SU athletics director said that if the 'Cuse can "keep the right players coming back" along with a top-10 class in 2025 at the high school level and Kline leading the portal charge, "We can flip this thing pretty quickly."