Clemson Basketball Loses 2025 Four-Star Guard to Big 12 Power

The Clemson Tigers were hoping to add Jamarion Batemon to their next men’s basketball recruiting class.

Milwaukee Academy of Science guard Jamarion Batemon (15) grabs a rebound against Shoreland Lutheran in a WIAA regional game Friday, March 1, 2024, at Milwaukee Academy of Science in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. / Dave Kallmann / Milwaukee Journal

The Clemson Tigers watched as four-star guard Jamarion Batemon announced his commitment to a Big 12 power on a YouTube stream on Monday.

Batemon, a Milwaukee (Wis.) Academy of Science rising senior, selected the Iowa State Cyclones, who won the Big 12 men’s basketball tournament last season and reached the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16.

Batemon was down to Clemson, Iowa State, Big East power Marquette and another Big 12 school, West Virginia, which is rebuilding under new coach Darian DeVries.

The 6-foot-3 guard had not visited Clemson officially, but he told On3.com that the Tigers weren’t “…afraid to pull the trigger later in my recruitment and understand my goals of making the NBA.”

On3.com ranked Batemon as the No. 51 player in the class.

With his decision, the Tigers still have one commitment for the Class of 2025 — 6-foot-10 power forward Trent Steinour from Lake Norman High School in Mooresville, N.C. Steinour is a three-star player and ranked among the Top 200 players in the country.

Commitments are non-binding. Recruits cannot sign until at least the early signing period in November.

Before Batemon got down to a final four last week, he was also considering Bradley, Cal Poly, DePaul, Grambling State, Illinois, Mississippi State, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest and Milwaukee, per 247sports.

Clemson is coming off its biggest season on the hardwood since 1980. Like that season, the Tigers reached the Elite Eight. Clemson was a No. 6 seed and defeated No. 11 New Mexico, No. 3 Baylor and No. 2 Arizona before falling to No. 4 Alabama one step away from the Final Four.

The Tigers did not have anyone selected in the NBA Draft. But star forward P.J. Hall was signed to a two-way contract with the Denver Nuggets, who won the 2023 NBA Finals. Two other Clemson Tigers signed summer league deals.

Tigers head coach Brad Brownell and his staff have retained talent and brought in a host of transfers they hope will allow them to take that next step in 2024-25 and challenge for the program’s first berth in the Final Four.

Clemson continued to work on its non-conference schedule for 2024-25. With the Tigers on the lookout for two or three more non-conference games, they already have home games set up with Charleston Southern, Eastern Kentucky, Florida A&M, Kentucky, Memphis and Radford.

Clemson’s two true road games look like Boise State and in-state rival South Carolina, while they’re scheduled to participate in a Thanksgiving MTE in Daytona Beach, Fla.