Syracuse guard Kyle Cuffe Jr plans to enter NCAA Transfer Portal

Syracuse Orange guard Kyle Cuffe Jr. plans to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal, On3 has learned. He averaged 5.1 points, 1.1 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game for the team over the 2024-25 season.

Cuffee played high school basketball at the Blair Academy (Blairstown, NJ). He originally committed to Kansas, where he played the 2022-23 season. He transferred to Syracuse ahead of the 2023-24 campaign.

At the end of this past season, Cuffe stated his intention to return to Syracuse: “I plan to be back,” the guard stated, via James Szuba of Nunes Magician. “Coach Red and I had conversations for me coming back. That’s the plan.

“… I love Syracuse. Coming here was a big thing for me. A lot of people on the team last year I grew up with. The connections made me feel more comfortable coming here. I’ve had one of the best times of my life here the last two years.”

Alas, it’s evident plans changed over the past few weeks for Kyle Cuffe Jr. — he’ll now be heading into the portal, and looking for a new home next season. Meanwhile, Syracuse will be hoping to right the ship and return to the NCAA Tournament, after missing out on the 68-team dance in 2025.

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire.

The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.

More on the Syracuse Orange

Meanwhile, amid a disappointing 2024-25 season, Syracuse athletic director John Wildhack gave second-year Orange head coach Adrian Autry a vote of confidence. Wildhack announced Autry would be returning for a third season as Syracuse’s head coach in 2025-26, according to Syracuse.com: “We’ve got to fix it,” Wildhack stated. “And Adrian knows that.”

The 53-year-old Autry is an Orange alumnus who both played and coached under legendary Cuse head coach Jim Boeheim. Autry was a four-year starting point guard at Syracuse from 1990-94, where he led the Orange in assists all four seasons and still ranks fifth in school history with 631 career assists.

Following a brief professional career overseas, Autry started his collegiate coaching career. He served as an assistant under then-Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg in 2010 after two seasons as the Hokies’ director of basketball operations.

Autry then returned to his alma mater as an assistant under Boeheim from 2011-16 before being promoted to associate head coach from 2016-23. Autry then replaced Boeheim after the Orange legend retired in 2023 following 47 years at Syracuse.

— On3’s Alex Byington contributed to this article.