Clemson Basketball Receives First Transfer Committment of 2026 Offseason

Clemson Tigers head coach Brad Brownell begins his transfer portal window with a pickup in the first week, and it’s one who has experience within the ACC already.

According to On3’s Pete Nakos, Notre Dame guard Cole Certa has committed to Clemson, filling a need for a shooter who has already seen two seasons within the conference. He has two years of eligibility remaining.

BREAKING: Notre Dame transfer SG Cole Certa has signed with Clemson, @PeteNakos reports🐅https://t.co/fWBBNguM78 pic.twitter.com/C4RQDuxYmW
— Transfer Portal (@TransferPortal) April 12, 2026

The guard was the Fighting Irish’s main shooter from behind the arc last season, and he won games by himself by doing so. Certa averaged 12.8 points for Notre Dame this past season, a 10-point increase compared to his freshman year production.

Most notably, he shot the three at a 36.7% clip, averaging 7.2 attempts per game for the Irish. He also shoots a free-throw percentage of 89.2%. Certa started in 16 of Notre Dame's 31 games last season.

In Notre Dame’s four ACC wins, Certa won two games by himself for the team. The Irish’s two wins in February came against Georgia Tech and NC State, and Certa scored at least 30 points in both games.

The sophomore hit seven threes to finish with 37 points against the Yellow Jackets, then hung 32 points to win an overtime matchup with the Wolfpack, hitting six threes in that win. Brownell will look to get that production in a scenario next season, and the sharpshooter will look to take advantage in his new home.

Certa entered the portal with a “do not contact” tag, doing the process on his own while receiving interest from Marquette and DePaul. The guard was on campus over this weekend, and sources reported that he did not go to the rest of his visits before committing to Clemson on Sunday.

Cole Certa will not be visiting tomorrow after all. Sounds like the Clemson went well. #mubb
— MUFastBreak (@FastBreakMU1) April 12, 2026

The Le Moy, Illinois, native is the first of hopefully many for Clemson, which now has four roster spots still to fill after Certa’s commitment. He will fill the spot of Butta Johnson and Jake Wahlin as a key win for the program, being a critical fill with previous experience within the ACC already.

Going forward, Brownell will need more frontcourt pieces and perhaps another veteran presence in the backcourt. Those talks will continue into the second week of the transfer portal period, which opened after the national championship on Tuesday.

Clemson Tigers on SI will remain updated with the other pieces that will be coming to the program over the next several weeks with our transfer portal tracker.