What Jerry Deng Entering the Portal Means For NC State
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RALEIGH — NC State continues to experience massive roster turnover during the 2026 offseason. With Will Wade departing the program after just one season leading the Wolfpack and Justin Gainey taking over after finishing his stint at Tennessee as the associate head coach, many of the potential returners have chosen to enter the transfer portal to pursue different opportunities.
The latest player to head into the portal was former four-star recruit Jerry Deng, who transferred to NC State from Florida State for the 2025-26 season. Deng became the eighth member of the program to explore his options away from Raleigh, joining a handful of key contributors from the Wade era, although Deng never fit into the rotation with any sort of consistency.
A frontcourt rebuild is coming
NC State forward Jerry Deng plans to enter the @TransferPortal, he told @On3.
— Joe Tipton (@JoeTipton) April 14, 2026
The 6-9 junior averaged 6.1 points in eight games before redshirting. Will have two years of eligibility remaining.https://t.co/P2CLLLO2iq pic.twitter.com/2j7SFpf8Xv
Deng's decision isn't a surprising one. The junior forward played in just eight games for NC State before falling out of favor with Wade. Ultimately, Deng chose to utilize a redshirt to preserve an extra season of eligibility and seemed likely to enter the transfer portal well before the conclusion of the 2025-26 season at the First Four in Dayton, Ohio.
Wade's departure slowed the process down for Deng, who hung around for a week after the portal opened before deciding to officially leave NC State. With Gainey at the helm, the Wolfpack is expected to completely remake its identity from the way Wade played things in his one year, focusing instead on toughness, positional size and defense. The junior forward wouldn't have fit that mold, as Deng profiled more as a stretch forward capable of knocking down 3-point shots at a high clip.
The Wolfpack rebuild took a major step when the team secured a commitment from combo guard Christian Hammond, who played for Santa Clara over the last three years. He marked the first addition under Gainey's watch as NC State takes things slow in the early days of the portal season, while other schools embark on aggressive spending sprees.
Deng leaves behind two of his frontcourt teammates in Musa Sangia and Zymicah Wilkins, both of whom could be in line to stay with Gainey and the Wolfpack for another season if they don't feel there would be a robust market for them in the transfer portal. Wilkins, a former four-star recruit who redshirted in his freshman season, likely appeals more to the new staff because of his ties to the area. Still, Deng's exit only solidifies that things will look very different in Raleigh next season.
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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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