NC State Adds Former Miami Receiver With Deep Wolfpack Ties
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RALEIGH — The transfer portal period saw NC State work quickly to rebuild its roster after a strong finish to the 2025 season. With quarterback CJ Bailey lined up to return for his junior season, the team worked diligently to surround the signal caller with talent and even tried to increase team chemistry by using his South Florida connections.
Even with the portal closed to new entries for most programs, the Wolfpack leveraged those Miami roots. The team secured a commitment from Miami Hurricane wide receiver JoJo Trader just a week after he played in the College Football Playoff National Championship game, per a report from On3. Trader became the third alumnus of Chaminade-Madonna College Preparatory on the NC State roster, joining his old quarterback.
Trader’s impact on the Wolfpack offense
BREAKING: Miami transfer WR Joshisa Jojo Trader has Committed to NC State, he tells @On3
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) January 26, 2026
He was ranked as a Top 45 Recruit in the 2024 On3 Industry Rankings https://t.co/RlUbB6EMhS pic.twitter.com/og8IvVRQDl
NC State completely reloaded the wide receiver corps for Bailey after losing Noah Rogers and Terrell Anderson to the transfer portal and Wesley Grimes to graduation. Trader likely marks the final piece of that puzzle, but Bailey laid the seeds for the Miami receiver to join the Wolfpack months ago, before the Wolfpack took on the Hurricanes at Hard Rock Stadium in early November.
"JoJo Trader, Chance Robinson, Keelan Marion, Mark Fletcher, Malachi Toney, all of them," Bailey began. "All those guys I know, I don't want them talking (smack) to me after the game, so we got to go win it all."
The first two names Bailey rattled off at his media availability before the game will wear an NC State jersey and helmet in 2026. Robinson left the Hurricanes in the midst of their run to the national championship, but Trader stuck through it. He caught passes in the wins over Ohio State and Ole Miss, ultimately finishing the 2025 season with 13 receptions for 178 yards and one touchdown.
The chemistry between Trader and Bailey goes back to their high school days. The duo combined for 757 yards and 14 touchdowns in their final season at Chaminade-Madonna in 2023, with Trader securing a spot as a four-star recruit with the Hurricanes. Their fellow teammate, running back Davion Gause, already made the unprecedented move to transfer from UNC to NC State to reunite with his former quarterback.
Wide receivers coach Joke Phillips has a wealth of talent to work with in the receiver room, including Trader. The Wolfpack already added Robinson, Victor Snow from Buffalo, Tyran Warren from Alcorn State and Davion Dozier from Appalachian State, rounding out the receiver corps. Trader is the third member of the Miami program to transfer to NC State, joining Robinson and linebacker Raul Aguirre.
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Tucker Sennett graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in Sports Journalism from the esteemed Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. A former basketball player, he has gained valuable experience working at Cronkite News and brings a deep passion for sports and reporting to his role as the NC State Wolfpack Beat Writer On SI.
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