Washington State transfer guard Nate Calmese commits to Wake Forest

Washington State transfer Nate Calmese is heading to the ACC. On3 has learned that the guard is takings his talents to Wake Forest via the NCAA transfer portal.

Calmese had plenty of options before choosing the Demon Deacons. According to On3’s Joe Tipton, the guard was choosing between Baylor, Florida State, St. John’s, Villanova and the eventual winner in Wake Forest.

Moreover, Calmese has played for a new team in each of his three college seasons, with 80 games played and 64 being starts, with one apiece at Lamar, Washington, and Washington State. He has averaged 14 points (47.3% FG, 32.6% 3PT), 2.8 assists, 2.4 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game in those appearances.

His seasons with the Cardinals and Cougars were better than his one as a reserve with the Huskies, including this year as a junior at Wazzu where Calmese posted 15.2 points (47.4% FG, 29.1% 3PT), 4.4 assists, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.6 steals a game as the team’s leading in scoring, assists, and steals

Calmese, a Gilbert, Arizona native, played his high school basketball at Mesquite. He was the No. 311 overall recruit there as a three-star in 2022. He also rated as a Top-60 PG in the class and a Top-20 player out of the state of Arizona. That’s according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Now, in his third time transferring, Calmese rated well in the latest update to On3’s Industry Ranking of 2025’s Top Transfer Portal Players. He was the No. 296 overall player as the No. 79 SG in the portal.

That had Calmese third among the four total transfers during this portal cycle from Washington State. He’s in alongside Cedric Coward (No. 17) while LeJuan Watts (Texas Tech – No. 26) and Isaiah Watts (Maryland – No. 168) have also committed elsewhere.

Watts has spent the past two years up in the northwest in the state of Washington. Now, with these options left in the portal, he’ll either return to Texas or be going to the complete opposite coast of the U.S..

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.

— On3’s Sam Gillenwater contributed to this article.