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Wofford (19-16, 10-8 SoCon/6th in SoCon/SoCon Tournament Champions) –For the first time since 2019 and for the sixth time in program history, Wofford cut down the nets as Southern Conference Tournament Champions at the end of the 105th celebration of college basketball’s oldest postseason basketball tournament.
It could be said that the Terriers underachieved during the 2024-25 regular-season, however, as you know in a league like the SoCon, which has somehow never garnered more than one bid to the NCAA Tournament, the regular-season doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things, especially if you break through and win the tournament.
SOUTHERN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS #ConquerandPrevail pic.twitter.com/PtFgC9K3Us
— Wofford Men's Basketball (@WoffordMBB) March 11, 2025
Towards the end of non-conference play, the Terriers went on the road and were able to get a 74-71 win over Atlantic 10 member, which would turn out to be one of the best wins of the season for Wofford and would end up giving the team the type of confidence they could lean on azs the season moved forward.
In one way, it was apparent the Terriers had the most experience in the Southern Conference, and that was because the Terriers almost played better on the road during the 2024-25 season than it did at home. The Terriers went 8-8 on the road, while posting a 7-6 record in home games.
Wofford had played well early in SoCon play, getting road wins at both East Tennessee State (W, 81-78) and at arch-rival Furman (W, 81-62), as the Terriers handed the Paladins one of their worst home losses in recent memory. The Terriers also posted what was a 77-69 home win over Western Carolina at the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium.
While it was a strong start to league play by winning three of their first four league games, which included a three-game winning streak, it would be the last time the Terriers would string three-straight wins together until the Southern Conference Tournament in Asheville.
With a 78-75 home loss on Senior Day to close out the regular season to Furman, it meant the Terriers would head to the postseason as the No. 6 seed, and despite not being in great form entering the postseason tournament, the Terriers knew they had the talent and experience to win the tournament when they arrived in Asheville. Plus, it was arguably the most competitive league season in its tradition-rich history.
In the opening game, the Terriers took down No. 3 East Tennessee State, 72-60, before meeting up with No. 7 seed VMI in the SoCon semifinals. Like Wofford, VMI had been a bit of a surprise package in the 2025 tournament, as the Keydets took down No. 10 The Citadel (W, 73-62) and No. 2 UNC Greensboro (W, 64-57) to reach the semifinal clash against Wofford.
Men’s Basketball Brings in Five Transfershttps://t.co/NIBtoqB9aV
— Wofford Men's Basketball (@WoffordMBB) June 6, 2025
The Terriers and Keydets had split the two regular-season meetings, but Wofford got the better of VMI in Asheville, posting their second-straight win over the Keydets, with an 85-65 win over VMI to reach the championship game for the first time since the 2020 Tournament.
Wofford, which was 5-1 in championship games, with all five title wins notched by former legendary head coach and current Virginia Tech head coach Mike Young. In the championship game, head coach Dwight Perry’s men would face an old rival, in No. 5 seed Furman, which had reached the championship game by virtue of wins over No. 4 Samford (W, 95-78) and No. 1 Chattanooga (W, 80-77 OT).
The Paladins, which had snapped a 43-year NCAA Tournament drought with an 88-79 win over Chattanooga a couple of years earlier, were playing in the championship for the third time in four years and entered with 25 wins for the season.
The Terriers and Paladins would play an epic, with the basketball of the highest quality, but at the end of it, Wofford’s experience would matter when it went up against a pretty veteran Furman team, although the Paladins lacked the experienced depth in some areas, and that’s where Wofford would make it the advantage it entered the 2024-25 season when compared to the rest of the league count the most, out-scoring Furman 13-2 in the final 2:43 of the game to capture the program’s sixth Southern Conference title with a 92-85 win over Furman, as the Terriers overturned a late four-point lead by the Paladins (83-79) to emphatically rip the title out of the grasp of the Paladins.
It would mark the first time in SoCon Tournament history that the No. 5 and No. 6 seeds have met in the championship game, and it would mark the first time in the history of college basketball’s oldest postseason conference tournament would have a No. 6 seed lift the championship trophy.
Jackson Sivills, Corey Tripp, Kyler Filewich, Anthony Arrington Jr., Dillion Bailey, Justin Bailey, and Jeremy Lorenz added the kind of experience and talent that would ultimately allow the Terriers to have the type off success in the championship game and especially down the stretch in that win. It was the ultimately collection of winning talent, which helped Wofford finish the season in its desired destination.
All the players mentioned above have now departed the Wofford program, however, and that’s what made this off-season in particular especially important for head coach Dwight Perry and staff, as they look to go about replacing that talent lost to either graduation or the transfer portal.
Both Jeremy Lorenz and Justin Bailey moved on after the season, as did forward Belal El-Shakery, who spent most of the season injured and opted to transfer out at season’s end, even after the Terriers were able to achieve the ultimate goal of winning the tournament title. Anthony Arrington Jr. and Don Douglass were two others that decided to enter the portal.
Lorenz, a 6-9 forward, ended up transferring out to join Depaul’s basketball program for the 2025-26 season, while Justin Bailey will be suiting up for the Georgia Bulldogs next season. All told, Wofford will need to replace its six top scorers from last season’s championship run.
The good news is that the two players returning were a significant part of the rotation last season as reserves, with freshman guards Luke Flynn and Kahmare Holmes both set to return for Dwight Perry’s team in 2025-26. A third freshman–Cannon Richards–is also back, but virtually all the other important pieces must be replaced from a Wofford team that went 19-16 last season and won it all in Asheville.
Both Flynn and Holmes are tied for the returning leading scorer honors, as both averaged 4.1 PPG off the bench last season. Flynn found his way into double figures on three occasions during the 2024-25 season, posting a season-high 11 points in a loss to the College of Charleston, while posting 10 points in wins over both Gardner-Webb and Kentucky Christian last season.
Flynn was a solid threat from the perimeter during the 2024-25 season, as he finished the season a solid 36.0% (36-of-100) from three-point range last season. He logged action in 34 games, with one start and averaging 20.1 minutes-per-game off the bench. He also averaged 2.9 rebounds-per-game off the bench and dished out 40 assists last season.
Holmes, who also averaged 4.1 PPG, excelled as one of the on-ball best defenders on the team in his first season at Wofford. The 6-3 guard was also one of the team’s top athletes last seasons, and like Flynn, would find his way into double figures on three occasions last season, with a season-high 11 points in games against both Kentucky Christian and in a late-season win at VMI.
As a perimeter threat last season, Holmes knocked down just 22.2% (10-of-45) from long-range, as it is an area in which he will hope to improve most during the off-season. Holmes also averaged 2.0 rebounds-per-game last season, while also contributing () assists for the season.
Cannon Richards only saw limited action last season, but is expected to step in and play more of a role this season after coming to Wofford from Kell High School out of Atlanta, GA. The 6-7 small forward saw action in only 14 games for the Terriers last season, posting 19 points, 26 rebounds, three steals and four blocks.
Unlike last year when head coach Dwight Perry basically needed to only bring in one player from the portal, which ended up being point guard Justin Bailey, head coach Dwight Perry and staff would end up hitting the portal pretty hard during the off-season at the end of the 2024-25 campaign. Every newcomer brought in via the portal will have the chance to contribute right away for the Terriers in 2025-26.
The Terriers have already welcomed in four players from the transfer portal this season and have already signed a talented class of four freshmen that should be among the best freshman signing classes in the SoCon heading into the 2025-26 season.
One of the signees from the portal that could end up being an instant impact player for Wofford this coming season is 6-3 guard Nils Machowski, who comes to Wofford from the Orlando and the University of Central Florida. Machowski will play shooting guard and is coming off a sophomore season with the Golden Knights, which saw him average 3.7 PPG and 2.2 RPG in 31 games for UCF.
He finished his second season with the Golden Knights connected on 43.5% (37-of-85) from the field and shot a solid 36.7% (18-of-49) from three-point range last season and posted four double-digit scoring games during the 2024-25 season. Machowski posted a career-high 15 points in the College Basketball Crown Tournament opener against Oregon State.
He played an important role in helping the Golden Knights reach the championship game against Nebraska, as he finished the tournament averaging 9.8 PPG and 3.8 RPG, while shooting 46.7% (14-of-30) from the floor and 50% (9-of-18) from three-point range. Machowski originally hails from Berlin, Germany and will give the Terriers a highly skilled shooter from Europe.
Central Michigan transfer Cayden Vasko figures to add even more depth to the shooting guard spot where he was solid during his sophomore season for the Chippewas. The 6-6 shooting guard saw action in all 31 games for the Chippewas, averaging 7.4 PPG and 5.0 RPG last season for the Chips. Vasko is a similar player that of Jackson Sivills and could end up playing a similar type of role during
Vasko will be a player that will be asked to come in and produce immediately and could end up being an instant impact player, and he will give the Terriers a true inside-outside threat next season and he finished the 2024-25 season by connecting on 46 three-point field goals, shooting a team-best 39.0% (46-for-118) from downtown during the 2024-25 season with the Chippewas. In two seasons at Central Michigan, Vasko ended up averaging 5.7 PPG and 4.0 RPG, while also contributing a total of 64 three-point field goals in two seasons, as well as being a solid free throw shooter, connecting on 71.7% (33-of-46) in his two seasons in Mt. Pleasant.
With schools like Chattanooga and Furman getting big contributions from NCAA Division II players this past season, and with the Terriers already having had a good experience with a guy like Dillon Bailey, the Terriers ended up getting a commitment from another player that has the potential to become a star in the SoCon in the upcoming season, with the addition of 6-3 guard Brendan Rigsbee, who comes to Wofford after having spent two seasons at University of Alabama-Huntsville.
Rigsbee, who is a native of Suwanee, GA., will give the Terriers an instant impact player and scoring threat. He will have two years of eligibility remaining and averaged in double figures in both of his seasons with UAH and then transferred to Georgia College and State University, where he missed the entire season with an injury before opting to transfer. The 6-3 guard averaged 16.8 PPG, 5.6 RPG and 2.6 APG in his most recent season on the hardwood back during the 2023-24 season.
Rigsbee connected on 52-of-124 (41.9%) from three-point range in two seasons, so he’s not going to be the volume shooter from three-point range that maybe Corey Tripp or others have been in the past for the Terriers. He will likely be in line to start immediately this coming season, and while the Terriers might lose a little in terms of athleticism and on the defensive end, Rigsbee is every bit the scorer that Tripp was, and might even be more of a true point guard than his predecessor.
In terms of adding size from the transfer portal, the Terriers also did that by going out and adding 6-11 center Callum Richard, who comes aboard after spending two seasons at East Carolina, while the Terriers also went out and signed 6-8, 220-lb power forward Rex Stirling from the JUCO ranks.
Richard, who hails from Gastonia, N.C., only logged action in four games last season after seeing a total of 16 games worth of action in his first season with the Pirates. He will be a bit of a project to develop into a regular contributor in the paint for the Black and Gold, however, if the Terriers can get some solid production in small spurts out of the big man transfer, it could give the Terriers the ability to change things up with some superior size, which is not something that is now all that commonplace in the SoCon.
Like Rigsbee, Stirling showed the ability to be a reliable scorer at a lower level, and he will have two years of eligibility remaining when he arrives in Spartanburg. During his sophomore season at Williston State College, the native of Melbourne Australia averaged an impressive 18.2 PPG and 10.3 RPG, while shooting 57% from the field and 36% from three-point range, as he will give the Terriers another player with true inside-outside ability.
Stirling will be a solid replacement for Filewich, with his main strength being on the glass. He led all of JUCO in offensive rebounds (163), while also ranking fourth nationally in total rebound average. He will be another player that will likely step into an impact type role immediately for Wofford.
Freshman Additions:
Along with Furman, it could be argued that Wofford might have brought in one of the top freshmen signing classes in both the SoCon, and potentially one of the best in all of mid-major hoops. All four signees are considered three-four-star signees by a majority of the recruiting services.
The Terriers will be bringing in a total of four signees to their freshman signing class for the 2025-26 season, with point guard Chace Whatley (Totino-Grace HS/Fridley, MN), point guard Jaden Tyler (Homewood-Flossmoor HS/Chicago, IL), point guard Maximo Ortega (Pembroke Pines Charter High School/Miami, FL) and 6-8 forward Brian Sumpter (Keenan Hs/Columbia, S.C.).
All four recruits are expected to compete for time this coming season and coach Perry and staff are especially excited for this group to get started in Spartanburg. If you haven’t guessed it already, point guard is a recruiting area of concern for Perry and staff, and Chace Whatley highlights a talented trio if point guards added in Wofford’s latest recruiting haul from the high school ranks.
The New Hope, MN, product helped his program to three state titles in the four seasons he was in the program, as well as garnering all-state honors in both his junior and senior seasons, respectively. Whatley will have a chance to compete for the starting job right away this season. Coach Perry is particularly impressed with Whatley’s basketball IQ, which makes him a candidate to be in the rotation running the point sooner rather than later. Whatley was rated as a three-star recruit by both http://verbalcommits.com and 247Sports.
Both Jaden Tyler and Maximo Ortega will also be in the mix to assume the role as Wofford’s next point guard in 2025-26, succeeding the talented Corey Tripp at the position. Tyler is the most diminutive of the trio of new floor generals, standing just 5-10, but hails from the high school basketball hotbed of Chicago, where he starred for Homewood-Flossmoor High School.
Tyler can straight fill it up and is much more of a scorer than Whatley and also has the ability to create his own shot off the dribble. In his senior season, Tyler averaged 19.1 PPG, 4.0 RPG and 3.0 APG and was a 40% (74-of-183) three-point shooter in his senior season. In his final two seasons at Homewood-Flossmoor, Tyler posted 1,055 points, which included scoring 648 points in his senior season alone. Like Whatley, Tyler is rated a three-star recruit according to both http://verbalcommits.com as well as 247Sports.
Ortega rounds out the trio of point guards brought in by Wofford experiences, and he comes to Wofford from South Florida by way of Pembroke Pines Charter High School in Miami. Ortega is a physical point guard with good strength and athleticism, which will serve him well in the SoCon, while also giving the Terriers the luxury of having a bit of a change-up in comparison to the other two freshmen coming as a part of the latest signing class. He finished out his senior season averaging 15.0 PPG, 4.5 RPG and 3.0 APG and was a standout AAU player at Florida Pro, which plays in the exclusive Adidas basketball circuit known as 3SSB (3Stripes Select Basketball).
Ortega’s skill set is more closely resembles that of Whatley, as the Miami, FL product isn’t necessarily a scorer, but more of a true point guard.
However, his physicality and athleticism will give the staff that unique staff the luxury of having a guy that is a tough matchup to account for because of his physical attributes, and it’s not something many of the SoCon point guards are built to effectively defend, and those that are, might not desire to mix it up physically at the position. The SoCon, like many mid-majors, is very much a finesse league when it comes to the point guard spot. Like both Whatley and Tyler, Ortega is rated as a three-star recruit by both http://verbalcommits.com and 247Sports.
Sumpter rounds out the recruiting haul, and like his signing class mates, will be given a chance to compete for time right away. The Keenan High School product is athletic and in terms of athleticism and his ability as a defender, is somewhat comparable to Nick Pringle when he arrived in Spartanburg back during the 2020-21 season, although Sumpter is much more polished at this point in his career
The all-state selection finished his senior season in strong fashion, garnering the AAA State Player of the Year award after averaging 17.0 PPG and 10.4 RPG, shooting 61% from the field. He was also a noted defender, and that, more than any other offensive attribute that he brings to the table, will give him a great chance to see some good floor time in his rookie campaign.
Building depth for not only the upcoming season, but for the future at both point guard and power forward were clear targets for the coaching staff, with not only who they were able to bring in from the transfer portal, but especially the two areas targeted for the freshman singing class.
Early 2025-26 Outlook:
Wofford figures to once again be in the mix for Southern Conference regular-season and tournament titles, despite massive losses to both the transfer portal, as well as losing some to graduation. With that said, enough has been brought in from the portal, along with an outstanding freshman signing class to see the Terriers have the opportunity to sustain the success they returned to as a program last season.
Like Furman, this Terriers signing class could arguably be one of the best in school history, or at least that’s the way it appears on paper anyway. Only time will really tell if it ends up panning out as good as the credentials the quartet have put on paper during their respective prep careers.
The Terriers have the makings of a team that is seemingly more athletic and perhaps even one more a little more athletic and versatile than the one that ultimately ended up cutting down the nets in Asheville last March. Unfortunately, experience is something that you can’t manufacture in practice, as well as it not necessarily easy to replace from the transfer portal.
The good news is the lower division talent coming on board is experienced and talented and can contribute right away. The most impressive gets from the portal, though, are both Central Florida transfer Nils Machowski and Central Michigan transfer Cayden Vasko are a pair of gets that will also end up being impact players that will not only give the Terriers some good size, but also some added shooting ability that will be vital at their respective positions.
Perhaps the most intriguing addition to the fold going into the 2024-25 season will be Rex Stirling from the JUCO ranks, as the Australian will not only give the Terriers a more polished scorer underneath than even Kyler Filewich was last season but also will be beneficial from the perspective of being a solid rebounding presence, especially on the offensive end of the floor. Stirling is a player that I will be particularly interested to watch in the coming season for the Terriers.
Also similar to conference arch-rival Furman, the Terriers have seen last season’s success lead to other opportunities for coaches that were on staff for that run, and in particular, Perry’s top assistant Will Murphy, who has moved on to become the head coach at Florida Tech after spending eight seasons as an assistant on the Terriers’ staff, spending the past two seasons as the Associate Head Coach.
Perry has adjusted accordingly by making a pair of impressive hires during the off-season to help counter the losses, including bringing in an ultra-successful former head coach into the mix, who will more than likely assume the position once held by Murphy on the staff as the Associate Head Coach.
New beginnings 🥳 Excited to welcome these two to the Wofford Men’s Basketball family!#ConquerandPrevail pic.twitter.com/footxkKgs1
— Wofford Men's Basketball (@WoffordMBB) May 8, 2025
Jeremiah Samarrippas, who was the former head coach of Lincoln Memorial in the NCAA Division II ranks in Harrogate, Tenn, where he put together an impressive 105-25 in four seasons at the helm of the Railsplitters, which included a 25-6 mark just this past season, including an ultra-impressive 21-3 record in league play. Samarripas will bring a great working knowledge conceptually of what Wofford wants to do offensively.
The other coach brought in during the off-season and will be set to join Perry on the sidelines in the late fall will be Trent Patterson, who comes aboard from the University of South Florida, where he spent a couple of seasons as the Director of Basketball Operations.
In his position with the Bulls, Patterson helped manage the team’s spending budget, managing all of the team’s recruiting-related, as well as team-related travel during his two seasons spent in Tampa. He served a vital role as a team liaison between the athletic department and the men’s basketball program, communicating the needs on one end, while also communicating the feasibility on the other.
Samarrippas and Patterson now join head coach Dwight Perry and assistants Tysor Anderson and Drew Gibson, who are already on staff, as the Terriers looked continue to move forward off a 19-16 season and a sixth overall appearance in the NCAA Tournament, with all of those coming in the span of the past 15 years.
Thank you, Wofford Family! Our Terriers made an unforgettable NCAA Tournament run, & it wouldn’t have been possible without our incredible donors.
Your support fuels our student-athletes' success! Let’s keep building!
Donate: https://t.co/Adj2VfOsNY#MarchWithTheTerriers pic.twitter.com/F23frEIUNO
— Wofford Terrier Club (@W_TerrierClub) March 24, 2025
Overall, this is a Wofford team that should once again be in the mix to challenge for a title, even despite all the losses to graduation and the transfer portal. With that being said, we all know the stat about how tough it is to defend a championship in this league, but Wofford was the last program to accomplish it when they won back-to-back titles in 2014 and ’15.
Starters Lost: (5)–G-Dillon Bailey (out of eligibility), G-Corey Tripp (out of eligibility), F-Kyler Filewich (out of eligibility), G-Justin Bailey (transferred to Georgia), and G/F–Jackson Sivills (out of eligibility)
Others Lost: (4)–F-Belal El-Shakery (transferred to New Hampshire), F-Jeremy Lorenz (transferred to Depaul), G-Anthony Arrington Jr. (transferred to Mount Saint Mary’s), and F/C-Don Douglass (transferred to Francis Marion)
Potential Breakout Player in 2024-25: G-Kahmare Holmes or G-Luke Flynn
Best Transfer Portal Get: F-Cayden Vasko (Central Michigan)
Best Freshman Addition: G-Jayden Tyler
Overall Portal/Recruiting Synopsis and Grade: A
