Players To Watch

This episode looks into players to watch from the transfer portal to potential pros!

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Host

Logan Brumley

What is In The Den?

"In The Den" with host Logan Brumley covers everything from the NC State Wolfpack's NCAA, intramural and club sports. "In The Den" is a podcast from WKNC 88.1 FM HD-1/HD-2 at NC State University.

PlayersToWatch.mp3
Meeting created at: 3rd Aug, 2026 - 9:55 AM

00:00
Logan Brumley
Hello and welcome to another episode of WKNC's official sports podcast in the den. Today's going to be a very simple episode. I'm going to be off for another week before the start of the school year. But just to kind of give you a piece to kind of chew on, I'm going to be doing a players to watch episode. And basically what I mean by that is the best draft prospects are coming up, some players who could go pro this year and then following it up with the top transfer prospects coming in, at least like one player for each team that I would watch if you were an NC State fan coming into this. So without further ado, let's get into this. This shouldn't really be too complex.

00:58
Logan Brumley
We'll start off with some of the best draft prospects to watch, just kind of players who have a lot of hype around them, who I think could be really exciting. And I did focus on early round draft picks for most of the sports. I'll kind of clarify that in a little bit. Let's start with Khamlil Pierre. She plays forward. She, you know, she's in her second year here after coming out of Vanderbilt. She's been highly efficient in her role as being the head of the frontcourt double machine, leading a team in points, rebound, shooting percentage. The team is starting to make a shift from a more defensive to offensive mind and kind of reflecting what we've been seeing from Duke and UNC in the past few years, especially since both of those teams have had more recent success than T State has.

01:57
Logan Brumley
So with that, you know, it's going to be a bit more of a small ball approach. Well, not really actually, because Camillo, she's played the four predominantly, but she is going to get some more reps at the three rather than the five, you know, which I think will be helpful. You know, she still has that interior scoring, some of that strength in the paint. While she isn't a great shooter on her own, maybe she could with reps at shooting forward. And it'd be interesting to see how she can grow more off the ball defensively because, you know, she is someone who's been able to use her size as a defensive asset but not more else for the team. She's going to be a late first round pick. I see a lot of projections and you know, with the WNBA growing, that's a good thing.

02:54
Logan Brumley
I mean, she's definitely going to find a roster spot coming into the end of this academic year. Next summer we'll be seeing her playing pro I think, I mean, if she can kind of develop more assets and maybe she could become a lottery pick, especially if she manages to get a 3 or manages to get some defensive viability to her that is truly elite. Another NC State players kind of projected as a later first round pick would be Zoe Brooks. She plays the guard. She's, you know, former blue chip prospect. This is her last ride with the program. You know, she's been here since that Final Four run and Pierre's the star. Brooks is the heart, soul and engine of the team. You know, she's top 10 in school history with assists.

03:51
Logan Brumley
I think she could find her way to the top, which is, you know, she has a lot of great scorers around her, especially when we go a little bit more into the transfer prospects. And considering Pierre, you know, two time first team all ACC player, she's been a really good point guard. You know, with her athleticism, decision making, she can definitely hold her own against some of the better defenses in college basketball. And, you know, her ability to pass is real good. She's been efficient with assists. I mean, a 1.83 assist to turnover ratio is solid, but her shooting is not great. Her defense isn't that great. She just has like a very high offensive profile that is very hard to miss and a defensive profile that if it can kind of find its spot. I mean, she's not a terrible defender.

04:50
Logan Brumley
She gets about two steals a game. But compare that to two turnovers a game and no block and efficiency. I mean, I guess we will have to see how it goes for her. I think she could definitely find a spot, maybe if she isn't even a point guard. I think she could be a shooting guard if she continues to find her shot. But I think a lot of teams will be able to find an asset of her in the pros. And I think that she's just going to continue being really good for NC State during the, you know, the winter and during the ACC competition where she usually finds her shine. All right, player number three, we're going to go over to men's basketball. I have Paul McNeil Jr wing player. This is, you know, he.

05:46
Logan Brumley
This was a crazy story because I remember that, you know, he was supposed to be on his way out. He was supposed to be the big grab for Will Wade leaving to, what's it called, LSU. I think it was like a $4 million nil deal. But he stayed loyal to school and that just kind of makes you more and more excited to see him play this fall. His offensive profile is really good. You know he's shooting Almost a like a 50-40-90 shooting split and you know he's been great with bullying opposing defenses and I think even if this team isn't super elite, teams are still going to have to work around him if they want to get wins against NC State because it is just once he gets going he's going to be really hard to stop.

06:44
Logan Brumley
The one big issue with McNeil is that he is very one trick pony in that regards. He can score but his assist to turnover ratio is not that great. I mean it's solid. It's. He gets about one assist a game. He. I mean he's a wing. I guess he does really need the assistant. Wait, five rebounds isn't that great. There's just not a lot outside of just this offensive efficiency that really stands out. However, maybe with this more disciplined defensive approach from Gainey that maybe we could see a switch around to being the veteran leader and being the primary offensive engine kind of similar to what we're seeing with Zoe Brooks.

07:40
Logan Brumley
And that could maybe help boost his draft profile if he is able to lean into that and to also just at least be a helper defensively which I think he's done a good amount of so far. But I mean I'd like to see more steals at least I'd like to see more rebounding. You know at 6 foot 5 I feel like he could do a little bit more rebounding but regardless he's a mid second round pick. I think that'll be about where he lands. Maybe he could work his way into the first round which would be great to see. I have two baseball players. We have Mikey Ryan, former LSU transfer. He played starting shortstop in 2026 and he should be able to hold that position for the duration of 2027. He has really good defensive talent deficit intangibles.

08:44
Logan Brumley
I mean he's only 6"1', so there could be an argument that he could scoot over the second base but the transition does not seem like it's going to be world shatter. And I know the transition from shortstop to second is something that a lot of scouts project and it's not something that is entirely impossible. But Mikey Ryan could work his way. If he just shows a little bit more footage of being an elite defender, which he can, then he should be able to stick around a shortstop in the pro level. He also has great intangibles on the offensive side. That's kind of what NC State likes to go for with their prospects and you know 44% on base, 0.342 batting average and nine home runs, 34 RBIs last year. So he does have power too.

09:41
Logan Brumley
He's been, you know, the regular cleanup batter for the squad and you know, the team already did have a lot of firepower last year and he was able to kind of stick out in the minimum games they play because I know he was injured for a short time. Let me check. I swear he was injured because he wasn't there for a short while. Yeah, he missed nine games with ankle injury, but he still was putting up similar numbers to the rest of the team, which is pretty impressive. And his power to pro level isn't the strongest though. I mean it's great in college, but we'll have to see if he can kind of fill out his frame and get stronger with hidden because he has seen tangibles, he has the power sort of there.

10:32
Logan Brumley
I guess we'll just see what a year of Chris Hart development will do for him. And you know, he's projected as a second round pick but he could jump into the first round if he is able to either kind of fill his frame, get some more power and become a truly coveted NCAA shortstop or if he doesn't and his offensive profile is really good for second baseman. Let's see. The last like notable draft prospect I have is Anderson Nance. I saw him like a couple early, like way too early draft prospects lists. He was listed as someone that was pretty good. I mean starter by. I'm not really sure who else can be. I mean how many games did he start last year?

11:32
Logan Brumley
He had three starts, but he has about 107 innings in two years as a relief pitcher with a 3.5 ERA, 12-5 record coming out of the bullpen. He has been great for the team with, you know, three saves. So I think he's going to kind of go into the projection of like a really good reliever and a starter. Iffy team getting his chance. Okay, no, he has a 4.7 last year he has a 3.55, but regardless he still had three saves. He had 20 appearances last year and three saves. That's pretty solid. And you know, he definitely has the artillery too to be pretty good. Mid 90s fastball, mid 80s curveball. His curveball is a big worry with the consistency, but his changeup's good. I don't know if he has a fourth pitch.

12:33
Logan Brumley
I haven't really seen too much of it but you know, with just those three pitches he could definitely find his way to get more starting reps and being able to be really good for the team. On that regard, especially since he was no, he's part of the collegiate national team from what I see. Sorry, I'm checking it real quick. Yeah, okay. He was at the team training camp which is pretty good. So yeah, definitely think he'll get he's projected as another day one pick in the second third round. He could definitely slide up if he can show really great starting experience. Otherwise I really do expect him to be drafted and I expect him to maybe not be an elite starting pitcher at the pro level but you know, maybe in the latter end or even a really quality bullpen arm.

13:38
Logan Brumley
I'll finish off with kind of my two football honorable mentions because I'm going to be doing like the mega piece on football for this next upcoming episode. So I better. I'm going to kind of start trickling in players to watch out for and the only two players I see that are like serious prospects, I did not include C.J. Bailey. I think I kind of go a little bit more into him in this upcoming episode of what he needs to prove. But for right now, Jamarion McCrimmon coming in from East Carolina 6'5", 295 he has the size, he has experience at the group of five level where he was really good.

14:22
Logan Brumley
It's just issues with his ability to deal with higher end rushers which is, you know what this season with NC State should be able to help with but you know, really good run game blocker from what I've seen and he should definitely be able to find some time as the starting left tackle and if not he could even play left. He can play on the left side of the offensive line. He's a projected six round pick so we'll see how it goes for him. I also have listed King Mack, safety from Penn State. He has good intangibles even though he hasn't really played him a lot. But he does have the intangibles, the athleticism just not the experience and some of the kind of growing pains of transitioning from high school. Where was he from originally?

15:25
Logan Brumley
Because I think he just went to Penn State, played a couple years there. Okay, yeah he went Penn State, Alabama and then NC State but he has been jumping around. He hasn't gotten too much experience. We'll see. But I mean I've seen a lot of draft boards project him so I might as well give him a mega honorable mention. All right now we'll get to the second half of this episode which is some of the Top transfers, you know, one for each program, two to watch out for continuing with football. I'll start off with Joshisa, also known as Jojo Traider. I'll call him Jojo and then the other part is kind of like a Miami Florida transfer... Mega duo. Again I'm using the word mega with Popo Aguirre. That's how it's pronounced. See trader. He can play the Z wide receiver.

16:32
Logan Brumley
That's what he played with at Miami. Although also from limited reps. I do have as an honorable mention Victor Snow, slot receiver from Buffalo. You know he got a lot of reps, albeit at Buffalo. He's a veteran player who I think is definitely going to be really good at slot. I've seen some draft boards have him, some not but Joshisa, no Jojo. I keep calling him by Jojo. Let's see has the tangibles, athletic profile and hunger for reps that inspires a lot of confidence. 6'1", 190 Pound junior coming from Hollywood Florida which is around the same place that CJ Bailey's from Scott's praise. His ability to track the ball. Come down with it. You know he had 178 yards on 13 catches last season including his only touchdown versus SMU and his career long 44 against NC State.

17:34
Logan Brumley
He is an elite rare talent there. Isn't that it factor to him? He is just a quality deep threat and he can also play some shorter yard routes but his reliability is more. He's one of those athletic receivers, are really good deep threats and he's very opportunistic at that level of defense and I think that he'll definitely be able to complement Keenan Anderson and fit their Snow really well. If he is able to take the refs that he's got and is able to show off some of that athletic skill and some of that you know talent with the ball track and that we have been promised coming in as a prospect. Yeah, fun fact. Best receiver prospect for NC State since Noah Rogers who is now part of the Crimson Tide.

18:27
Logan Brumley
I don't know if he started over there but you know NC State does have a track record of bringing really good players to better teams. So fun. Is he not at Alabama? I thought he was. He's not listed on the depth chart. Okay. Yeah he got injured anyways. Popo Aguirre, he's a Mike linebacker. He's going to be playing and Kaden Fordham's position, you know Caden Fordham, former all ACC player, kind of the anchor for the defense. Aguirre doesn't have a Lot of experience, but again, as someone who has a lot of the promise and intangibles. Let's see, in 16 games last year, had 43 tackles. While his numbers don't really stand out, he is a quality defender and can work within the Miami Ohio's defensive. Not Miami Ohio, Miami Florida defensive scheme pretty well. He does have some defensive playmaking and physicality.

19:44
Logan Brumley
You know, he has been used on blitzes a couple times. He's been pretty good with those. And let's see, where was I expecting to be a solid linebacker? Not quite Fordham, but you know, they brought in a lot of transfers at linebacker and he is the most trusted one. So I do expect him to be able to be a disruptor similar to what Fordham was, similar to what Sean Brown was in that he could at least be a good band aid for his last year of eligibility. For basketball I have. Okay. For men's basketball I have Darius Adams. This one's kind of the obvious ones he plays, he's going to most likely I think play shooting guard even though he can play point coming out of Maryland. See, you know Adams, former McDonald's All American from New Jersey.

20:48
Logan Brumley
He wanted to help rebuild Maryland because like they had that NCAA run with Derrick Queen and that coach before he went to Vanderbilt and then they're kind of trying to rebuild their image but it was just not good for him. He had a hand injury, a 35, 2070 split. He was just not that good with the time that he was given. So he left NC State again completely. Essentially a fresh. A lot of these transfers are getting like pure fresh starts and I think that's kind of what Adams is going to get with this program. His shooting was always promised to be great, even back when he was in the elite youth basketball league which has produced some NBA players, I'm pretty sure. Yeah, it has produced a lot of NBA players. I was thinking of a different league but well established offensive cog.

21:50
Logan Brumley
He can take whatever defense gives him. He's going to be really hard to work around for a posting defense. I, I like the idea of having your wings being Adams and McNeil and if you're a point guard, that's two great players you can give the ball to who are going to be able to put up shots. I mean Adams again, we'll see if he can take the shots. He is able to get to the shots but his efficiency has been iffy. If he can get to McNeil's level of efficiency, that is an amazing prospect right there. Let's see defensively he plays with enough physicality to be a productive helper against, you know, his position. I mean, of course you're not going to put your point guard against the opponent's center.

22:35
Logan Brumley
But while his defensive numbers don't really stand, I mean he only had about 0.2 blocks, 0.5 steals. He's enough to just kind of be a body and could potentially throw cogs in offensive schemes for opposing players. But I mean he hasn't met the NCAA standards yet, especially his passing. It wasn't Great, but a 0.8 assisted turnover ratio is not great. And he's kind of small at 6, 5, 175. So he's definitely got a bulk up, especially with the way he plays defensive, with the physicality. I definitely would like to see some more size on him. I'd like to see his ability to kind of use it to force some more shots because I mean he can be an opportunistic shot creator. But you know, when you're facing off against, I mean, I don't know, it's harder.

23:41
Logan Brumley
Big Ten or ACC basketball I assume ACC just top heavy. But it's going to be really hard for you to stop some of the bigger players in the ACC basketball if you cannot handle yourself against them. And that's what the size is there for and what the defensive capabilities that they approve is for. It's all potential, but it's all really good potential and I'm excited to see what he does in that early softy schedule to make the fans excited for him. Honorable mention Preston Edmead, point guard from Hofstra. He's probably going to be the floor general women's basketball I have Khady Leye, power forward from Auburn. Both transfers are great. With Desiree Wooten, a guard from Colorado, I think she'll find a role in NC State's fast paced system, either starting Brookes or rotating with Samuels.

24:43
Logan Brumley
I pick way just out of curiosity of her fit in the front court with Pierre. She's from Senegal, played with. What are they called? I forgot the school. But she was part of the Colonial Athletic association, made first team there, transferred to Auburn which was. It was a really bad Auburn team. But she led the team in rebounds with 5.5. She had 10 points a game, about one and a half steals. Her defensive productivity and her hustle, especially with her size plus wingspan and her overall aggressiveness is something I think coaches could be excited for if they saw a bit more at that Auburn level, which I don't think they did and that's why I think she was able to slide her way to NC State and I think taking some of that defensive load off of Pierre is going to be really helpful.

25:43
Logan Brumley
I would like to see more from her shot. She doesn't have a lot offense productivity even as a similar Pierre thing where it's just like finish with your size. She has a 44% shooting split on that mark and that's where I think it could be a complimentary basketball shooting forward, power forward where it's like Pierre's the offensive engine, lays the defensive engine in the front court and then maybe they could have that Annsley Trivette prospect bea stern center and just kind of have like this trio that I think could be really good.

26:25
Logan Brumley
She seems to love doing the dirty work for winning team and I think that's exactly what she's going to do here and I if everything goes right with what the vision is of her on her defensive assets and her offensive assistance I guess I'd say, I mean 10 points isn't really shabby. I I think she's going to be just fine on the team and I'm excited to see how it goes. The last one I have for you I do have some honorable mentions are kind of further down the road but Chet Lax pitcher from Wright State honorable mention going to Hunter Warren also from Wright State the second baseman but the Wright State NC State connection looks good this year.

27:16
Logan Brumley
I mean if you don't remember Wright State's baseball head coach is a NC State alumni and also worked with Avent and Hart so there's definitely a connection there. We all know Hunter Warren is going to be good. I mean he was had a lot offensive productivity so I decided to win with Chet just because of pitching necessity and how he could definitely find himself in a weakened rotation. Let's see, his latest season at Wright gave him a 91 record, 4.23 ERA and 13 starts including two quality SEC matchups where he only gave up one run in four innings starting against Georgia and zero runs and seven and starting against Tennessee and then the other one I noted was three on runs and eight and then seeing a hurlizing league tournament versus I think the champion.

28:15
Logan Brumley
Yeah champion in the team that helped to eliminate North Carolina State University of Milwaukee. But he did make first team on Horizon League. I think he had about mid-90s fastball. He has a curve changeup slider so he does have a good four pitch repertoire that will be helpful against ACC opponents. I think you'll definitely have to probably ease them into the role. But if his productivity is similar to what we saw at Wright State then he could definitely be a quality starter for a team that desperately needs one even if he's just here for about a season. I think it would be really great to see what he can do but that's pretty much all I have. I think this is going to be an exciting academic year. I think all of these major sports teams have gotten better.

29:13
Logan Brumley
Yeah, I'd say they all gotten better and I think that a lot of the teams who were more disappointed last year do have these expectations coming back and these players coming in are going to be very important when it comes to meeting those expectations. And while a lot of it is based on promise, it comes down to trust in coaching staffs and the player themselves to have realized potential. But that's all I have for you today. Have a good day and go pack.

Transcribed by https://fireflies.ai/