NC State point guard Michael O'Connell announces return for 2024-25 season

NC State point guard and former Stanford player Michael O’Connell will officially return to the Wolfpack for the 2024-25 season.

He announced the news on Instagram, posting a picture of him in NC State gear with a captain that merely read: “Unfinished business #BackWithThePack.”

O’Connell was a very underrated addition for the Pack (clearly) when he made the west coast to east coast migration to play for a program that’s going to be in the same conference as his former school, Stanford. A funny coincidence, but for the Cardinal, they’ll have to see their former PG at work up close and personal next season.

For Stanford, O’Connell carved out a similar role as he played for NC State in 2024, a pass-first point guard and a real game manager at the point guard position who will never dazzle you but alway keeps business flowing in the right direction on the offensive side of the basketball. He ain’t a slouch of a defender, either.

O’Connell is really a marvel of consistency at the college level. He’s played between 25 and 27 minutes per game for all four seasons so far, averaging between 5.2 and 7.1 points each year, along with assist numbers between 2.8 and 3.6 per game. So yeah, you can pretty much sharpie similar numbers in for the 2025 season as well, because with O’Connell, Kevin Keatts knows exactly what he’s getting.

Prior to enrolling at Stanford and then later choosing to enter the NCAA transfer portal, Michael O’Connell was an unranked prospect in the 2020 recruiting class.

At the Final Four, O’Connell, along with several other Wolfpack players, addressed the connection they have to Coach Keatts, with the NC State point guard explaining his appreciation for the confidence Keatts had in him.

“He’s had confidence in me since day one when he contacted me in the portal. Just to play for a coach like this who just has faith in you and pushes you to be your best every day. When you make mistakes, he holds you accountable. When you are doing well, he will compliment you and keep pushing you to do better. It means the world to be playing for him. It makes the game so much easier when you are out there.”