Former Clemson Guard Helps New Program Punch Ticket to March Madness

A former Tiger who couldn't crack the rotation to start his career is now one of the biggest reasons a mid-major program is dancing in March.

A former Clemson guard helped fuel a conference tournament run that secured his new team a spot in March Madness. | Ken Ruinard-Imagn Images

March Madness is right around the corner as the ACC Tournament kicks off today. But some other conferences have already wrapped up theirs, including the Southern Conference (SoCon) — where a former Clemson Tiger played a key role in sending his new team to the Big Dance for the first time since 2023.

That player is redshirt sophomore Asa Thomas, who dropped eight points in the SoCon Championship — a 76-61 win over No. 2 seed East Tennessee State — to secure No. 6 seed Furman an auto-bid to the NCAA Tournament, adding to the 11 points he combined for across the quarterfinals and semifinals.

Asa Thomas for THREEEEEEEEE to push the Furman lead to 12! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/ET25phOOen

— Furman Basketball (@FurmanMBB) March 10, 2026

Those numbers may not be eye-popping, but his performance throughout the season has been one of the most vital keys to a successful season that saw them finish 22-12. 

This year, Thomas has been one of their most prominent scorers, finishing third on the team at 12.5 points per game to go with four rebounds and two assists, doing so largely as the team's sharpshooter and leading Furman with a 39% clip from three (third-best in the SoCon).

His best stretch of hoops this season came in December, where he averaged 17.5 points, five rebounds and 2.5 assists per game while shooting over 50% from the field. The six-game stretch included contests against Elon, Harvard, Bob Jones, Manhattan, Charleston Southern and Mercer, who also played the Tigers close earlier this season.

But, as most know, it wasn't always this way for Thomas, as he faced adversity early in his collegiate journey.

Before finding his footing at Furman, the 6-foot-7 knockdown shooter was regarded as a three-star prospect, ranking as the No. 194 overall player, the No. 42 small forward and the No. 7 recruit in the state of Illinois, according to On3 rankings.

He ultimately decided to commit to Clemson and head coach Brad Brownell over other high-major programs, including Illinois, Iowa, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech and Wisconsin, among others.

However, it didn't go as planned: Thomas redshirted his entire freshman year and appeared in just 12 games as a sophomore. The limited action led to him entering the transfer portal ahead of the 2025 season, where he landed with Furman — a program just 45 minutes north of Clemson's campus.

Clearly, the decision to transfer has paid dividends for the young guard, and now, he'll finally get a chance to show off his talent on the biggest stage in all of college basketball.

Tune in to the Selection Sunday show on March 15 at 6 p.m. EST to find out who Thomas and the Paladins will play in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament.