Chase Hunter withdrawing from 2024 NBA Draft, returning to Clemson

Fresh off an Elite Eight appearance, head coach Brad Brownell is hoping to continue the success at Clemson. A few more pieces would be required to once again build excitement and one of them was announced on Wednesday afternoon.

Chase Hunter will return to Clemson for the 2024-2025 season, he announced. Hunter had previously declared for the 2024 NBA Draft but after going through the process, Hunter decided to play one more year of college basketball.

“Clemson family, let’s run it back one more time!” Hunter said on his Instagram page.

Hunter has been around the Clemson program for quite some time. His career began back in 2019 but due to injuries and COVID-19, Hunter has the option of playing for six seasons. A foot injury as a true freshman earned him a redshirt year.

Brownell will be thankful as Hunter has grown into a good player and should be one of the best in the ACC next season. Hunter averaged 12.9 points per game, good enough to be the team’s third-leading scorer. He was the top assist man, though, dishing out an average of 3.2.

Clemson went on to make a magical run in the NCAA Tournament, being one game away from making the school’s first-ever Final Four. Brownell had been facing pressure, as far as his job security went, in previous years after not even making the Field of 68.

But this was the year Clemson finally broke through and made a splash in a big way.

Looking ahead, On3’s James Fletcher is high on where Clemson stands going into the 2024-2025 season. The Tigers are No. 18 on his way-too-early Top 25 rankings 8.0, putting just two ACC programs ahead of them (Duke and North Carolina).

Hunter returning was always going to be a huge piece for Clemson. There is another big name, PJ Hall, that Brownell is going to wait on before beginning his preparation for next year.

Either way, getting Hunter back on the roster is a huge win for the program.

Clemson run to Elite Eight has helped recruiting

Clemson had a historic season on the basketball court last year after advancing to the Elite Eight for just the second time in program history. Making an improbable NCAA Tournament run after entering the field as a No. 6 seed in the West Region.

Success always has a positive impact on recruiting, which the Tigers can now take advantage of this offseason as they look to maintain their winning ways. Which Brownell spoke about in a recent press conference.

“It’s helped some, there’s no question that it’s helped,” Brownell said. “With recent success, teams are more familiar with you from a standpoint of hey, yeah we just watched you play. It’s not the end all be all though.”

On3’s Kaiden Smith contributed to this report