Clemson Tigers in Contact with Patriot League Transfer

Clemson and head coach Brad Brownell are getting their portal recruitment started as fast as possible, reaching out to an Australian Patriot League transfer.

Clemson has reached out to an impressive Patriot League transfer as the portal opens, leaning on strong international recruiting ties. | Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

It’s officially that time of year: the 15-day NCAA transfer portal is open.

While more contacts are soon to be announced, college basketball reporter and analyst Jeff Goodman reported yesterday that the Clemson Tigers reached out to Loyola Maryland’s Emmett Adair.

The early entry of Adair is due to players at schools with head coaching changes — like Loyola Maryland —  being able to enter the portal outside of the original April 7 window.

Loyola transfer Emmett Adair, a 6-9 freshman from Australia who averaged 14.6 ppg and 5.4 rpg, has interest from following schools, his reps @JG____5 and @austingwalton told @TheFieldof68

Nevada, Clemson, Tennessee, Colorado, Washington St, High Point, George Mason, Colorado St

— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) April 6, 2026

Other schools contending for the Australian native include Tennessee, High Point, Washington State, Colorado, Nevada, Colorado State and George Mason.

The contact from Clemson comes as little surprise, given the program’s recent hiring of Australian native Chris Harriman as an assistant coach. The veteran assistant has built a reputation as one of college basketball’s premier international recruiters, having recently recruited players such as Martin Kalu (Germany), Chol Machot (Australia), Will Mortimore (Australia) and Djordje Curcic (Serbia).

“Few guys have the international networking and contacts like Harriman,” CBS Sports’ Gary Parrish said when naming the top five Division I assistants. “He’s the long-term valuable hire, the guy who finds the gem buried under 20 feet of mud.” 

The question now is whether Adair is the next gem on Harriman’s list. 

In his first year playing collegiate basketball with the Greyhounds, the 6-foot-9 forward averaged 14.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and one assist on 47/32/81 shooting splits across 15 starts. He earned Patriot League All-Rookie honors and was named to the All-Patriot League Third Team. Additionally, he finished within the top 15 in both points and rebounds in the Patriot League.

Before coming to America to play, Adair had already begun turning heads on the international stage, representing Australia on the FIBA circuit and catching the attention of scouts along the way. 

In the 2023 FIBA U17 Oceania Championship, he put up nearly identical numbers to his freshman season at Loyola Maryland, averaging 14.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game across five contests. 

The following year, while playing in the FIBA U18 Asia Cup, he averaged 13.3 points, 7.7 rebounds, and just under 1 assist per game across six games. He was named the Most Valuable Player for his performance.

Most recently on the national scene, Adair was a part of the Australian Senior National Team that went undefeated in six games at the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifier. However, he played in just two games, averaging 9.5 points and 2.5 rebounds.