Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports has named 15 impact freshmen within the Atlantic Coast Conference for the upcoming 2025-26 season, and two Syracuse basketball newbies made his list.
For the Orange, Rothstein has included four-star shooting guard Kiyan Anthony from New York City and four-star forward Sadiq White Jr. from Charlotte, N.C.
Rothstein has also listed 10 impact transfers within the ACC, and 'Cuse point guard Naithan George, a junior who transferred in from Georgia Tech, is featured.
The Orange's projected starting line-up in 2025-26, according to Rothstein, is George at point guard; senior J.J. Starling at shooting guard; Nate Kingz, a redshirt senior transfer from Oregon State, at small forward; sophomore Donnie Freeman at power forward; and senior William Kyle lll, a transfer from UCLA, at center.
This is the same starting line-up that I am forecasting for the 'Cuse, at least to the start the 2025-26 campaign.
Jon Rothstein has Syracuse basketball in the ACC's mid-tier.
As I noted on Thursday, Rothstein places the Orange at No. 9 in his preseason ACC pecking order, which is reasonable to me. Checking at No. 1 is Duke, which made the Final Four this past season and features former Syracuse basketball big man Maliq Brown on its roster.
Rothstein's preseason All-ACC first team consists of Duke's Cameron Boozer, N.C. State's Darrion Williams, Louisville's Ryan Conwell, North Carolina's Seth Trimble and Notre Dame's Markus Burton.
I didn't expect the 'Cuse to field a player on Rothstein's first team, although I do think that several Syracuse basketball players, including Starling and Freeman, will make a run at All-ACC status in 2025-26 when all is said and done.
The Orange has 13 scholarship players this coming term, but only two returnees in Starling and Freeman. The team's five-member 2025 prep class is in the top 15 nationally. Syracuse basketball's six-member 2025 transfer cycle includes multiple four-star prospects, including George.
A season ago, George was one of the top point guards in the ACC while at Georgia Tech, and I'm confident that will prove the case again this coming stanza. Don't sleep on Kingz, though; he shot 44.6 percent from long range last season at Oregon State, and his 3-point prowess will prove huge for a 'Cuse squad that hit on just 32.8 percent from beyond the arc in 2024-25.
While Orange fans are eager to watch Anthony and White suit up for the 'Cuse, I could envision fellow incoming freshman Luke Fennell, a 2025 four-star combo guard, making just as big of an impact on the Hill in 2025-26.