Princeton’s Pierce to redshirt, then enter portal

• Jeff BorzelloJul 8, 2025, 02:08 PM ET Close Jeff Borzello is a basketball recruiting insider. He has actually signed up with ESPN in 2014.

Princeton star Caden Pierce, the 2023-24 Ivy League Player of the Year, plans to redshirt next season in order to finish his degree before going into the transfer website and playing his last season somewhere else in 2026-27, he informed ESPN.Pierce notified coach Mitch Henderson of his choice recently. It’s the latest advancement in what has actually been a hectic offseason for the program, which saw first-team All-Ivy League guard Xaivian Lee transfer to Florida and Henderson shuffle his training personnel.”This decision is nothing versus Princeton,”Pierce stated. “Princeton is permanently my home, the school that thought in me coming out of high school. Everything we accomplished is much more than I could have ever envisioned. What went into the decision: some of my colleagues were leaving, two of our assistant coaches weren’t kept. And clearly the present landscape of college basketball is constantly sitting in the back of your mind. Those things type of guided my choice. “Pierce, who is represented by Top priority Sports, prepares to go into the

website as soon as he has the ability to in the fall in order to give himself a comfy timeline for his recruitment.Editor’s Picks“It removes the speed-dating procedure of the postseason transfer website,” he stated.”It’s going to

be intriguing due to the fact that I’m not going to have a sense of what the total roster makeup is going to be for the coming year. However, going through the transfer portal procedure, you never actually understand. It’s going to be more of a high school recruiting process, I want to think. Because I will not be involved with the group, I can take some check outs here and there, relocation at a slower speed, it won’t need to be so hurried. “Pierce, a 6-foot-7 forward, began 89 games throughout his 3 seasons with the Tigers. He played a crucial role on Princeton’s

Sugary food 16 group as a freshman in 2023, winning Ivy League Novice of the Year honors and getting 16 rebounds in the group’s second-round NCAA competition win over Missouri.He broke out as a sophomore, averaging 16.6 points, 9.2 rebounds and 3.2 helps en route to winning Ivy League Gamer of the

Year. Among the 22 low-and mid-major conference players of the year in 2023-24, Pierce was the only one to go back to the very same school the following season. He had opportunities to move in other places following the campaign but chose to return to the Tigers for his junior year.Pierce battled injury concerns last season, suffering an ankle injury in late December that led to two fully torn ligaments and two partly torn ligaments. He battled through the discomfort throughout Ivy League play, putting up 11.2 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists, being named second-team all-conference. “I most likely might have sat out and recuperated a bit more, “stated Pierce, who added that he hasn’t done any serious basketball motions in the previous 2 months in order to get his ankle healthy.”However I’m a rival.”While a lot of Ivy League standouts have actually delegated play their last season elsewhere due to the conference’s longtime ban on college students participating in sports, few have voluntarily redshirted as a senior before leaving. Brown forward Nana Owusu-Anane underwent shoulder surgical treatment last October before going into the transfer portal in December and ultimately landed at Grand Canyon this spring.Pierce leaves later on this month to represent Team U.S.A. on its U23 3×3 group but will then have a number of months without competitive basketball.”I’m prepared for it to be difficult, however I will not understand how hard until I remain in that scenario,” he stated.”I can’t remember the

last time I took a year off from competitive basketball– probably before I started playing basketball. I hate that I have to step far from a location I enjoy a lot. Princeton’s my home.”