Clemson Basketball Among Top Six for Top 40 Class of 2025 Star

The Clemson Tigers men’s basketball team continues work the recruiting trail after reaching the NCAA Tournament’s Elite Eight.

Mar 30, 2024; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Clemson Tigers head coach Brad Brownell reacts in the second half against the Alabama Crimson Tide in the finals of the West Regional of the 2024 NCAA Tournament at Crypto.com Arena. / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The Clemson Tigers men’s basketball program is one of six schools that are in the running for a Top 40-point guard in the Class of 2025.

On3.com reported that Chance Mallory has narrowed his list of prospective schools to six, with the Tigers joining Virginia, Miami (FL), Tennessee, Virginia Tech and Villanova.

The report noted that Mallory is in the process of scheduling official visits. The earliest he can sign a national letter-of-intent is in November.

Mallory is a 5-foot-9 guard from St. Anne’s-Belfield School in Virginia. On3 ranks him as the No. 35 point guard in the class. Last season he averaged 26.0 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 4.8 assists.

Composite rankings have Mallory as a top 70 player.

With his decision, Mallory has cut Maryland, Butler, Indiana, Liberty, NJIT, Radford, Seton Hall, UCF, VCU and West Virginia out of the running. All had interest in him per 247sports.

Clemson has one commitment per 247Sports. Power forward Trent Steinour is at Lake Norman High School in Mooresville, N.C. The 6-foot-10 rising senior is a three-star player and ranked among the Top 200 players in the country.

Clemson is coming off its biggest season on the hardwood since 1980. Like that season, the Tigers reached the Elite Eight. This year, 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.

While Clemson is losing star forward P.J. Hall to the NBA Draft, 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.

The Tigers’ 2024-25 non-conference schedule is taking shape, per d1docket.com. The Tigers are set to open at home against Charleston Southern on Nov. 4, followed by a home game with Eastern Kentucky on Nov. 12. Clemson will travel to Boise State on Nov. 17, followed by a pair of games at an MTE in Daytona Beach, Fla., on Nov. 25-26.

Clemson returns home for three game against Florida A&M on Nov. 29, Kentucky on Dec. 3 and Memphis on Dec. 14. The Tigers have two more games that are lined up but dates have not been set — a home game with Radford and a road trip to in-state rival South Carolina.

The Tigers are likely looking for two or three more non-conference games.