Where Clemson Basketball Sits in First 2026 KenPom Rankings

As the college basketball regular season approaches, longtime journalist and metric guru Ken Pomeroy has unveiled his first KenPom rankings for the 2025-26 College Basketball season. 

Clemson enters the season at the No. 32 spot on the list – No. 2 in the ACC. Aside from Duke (8), there are no other conference opponents in the top 30, and only two more programs sit among the top 40: North Carolina at 33 and NC State at 38.

Last year, Clemson finished No. 23 in the KenPom rankings, one of its highest marks since the metric began over two decades ago. However, after a full roster reconstruction over the offseason, expectations have been lowered.

Over the summer, the Tigers' roster saw nine players depart following a program-best 27-7 season that was unfortunately cut short due to a first-round upset against McNeese State in the NCAA Tournament.

Players who lost eligibility include: G Jaeden Zackery, F Myles Foster and F Ian Schieffelin, who plays tight end for Clemson Football now.

Players who transferred include: C Christian Reeves → Charleston, G Jake Heidbreder → Fresno State, G Del Jones → Radford, F Chauncey Wiggins → Florida State, G Asa Thomas → Furman and PF/C Jackson Roberts → UofSC Aiken. 

With so many losses to the roster in such a short amount of time, Clemson fans were in panic, but head coach Brad Brownell immediately started recruiting from the portal – as he does best. By the end of the intense few months, the Tigers had added six new and experienced players to an already extremely young roster.  

The transfer haul includes: four-star Nick Davidson (Utah State), four-star Jestin Porter (Middle Tennessee), four-star Efrem 'Butta' Johnson (UAB), four-star Carter Welling (Utah Valley), four-star and former Tiger RJ Godfrey (Georgia) and three-star Jake Wahlin (Utah).

Brownell also acquired the third-highest rated Clemson Basketball recruit of all time in top-65 talent Zac Foster. The rest of the true freshmen consist of three-star power forwards Chase Thompson, Trent Steinour and Blake Davidson – brother of Nick. 

Now, after bringing in one of the best hauls of the recent transfer portal cycle and a strong freshman class, the Tigers and Brownell are in good shape to have another impressive season as they nearly sit atop their conference.

Clemson Basketball's season is set to kick off on November 3 vs. New Hampshire at 7:00 p.m. EST at Littlejohn Coliseum.