On the hardwood in Tigertown a season ago, Clemson men’s basketball saw shooting as a struggle at time for the 2025-26 season.
So, head coach Brad Brownell went out and got one of the best shooters in the conference from a season ago, Notre Dame guard Cole Certa. It only took him a visit to campus for him to commit that day, making him the Tigers’ first transfer of the 2026 offseason.
Before he was able to step foot on campus, he was on a Zoom call with Brownell the day before. Even through a screen, he felt how infectious the Clemson head coach was from the start.
“Coach’s energy and passion through the screen, you can feel it,” Certa said on Monday. “Obviously, playing Clemson the last two years, I know how he coaches and how the team plays. What he preached, obviously wanted to play a little faster this year—sounded like something I wanted to be a part of.”
The Le Moy, Illinois, native was one of the conference’s best shooters in ACC play for the 2025-26 season. Down the stretch, he averaged 19.3 points and shot over 37% from beyond the arc in the Fighting Irish’s last nine games.
While his recent performances in conference play could have been the reason for him to stay with an ACC program in the portal, Certa said he was looking for the best fit possible, which Brownell was able to provide.
“I was ultimately looking for just the right fit; that was one of the things that Coach said, ‘Look, you obviously score a lot, and you’ve done it in the ACC; you can do it again,’” the guard said.
The appeal of playing with another athletic guard helped his reasoning, too. While sophomore Zac Foster went down with a retear of his ACL, Certa is looking forward to playing with junior Ace Buckner, who was one of the most improved players in the ACC last season.
The two have also seen each other on the court last season.
“That sounded really exciting, because I’ve played Ace in high school and obviously last year,” Certa said, “so I knew how good of a player he was and he was someone I wanted to play with, also with Zac.”
However, there’s something else that the Notre Dame transfer that he wants to be known to the fans: he will give it all on the court. Don’t be surprised if Certa is showing excitement when the Tigers are taking the lead in games at Littlejohn Coliseum next season.
That’s the type of player the Tigers have; one who is a high-level scorer but plays with his heart on his sleeve.
“Just being an ultimate competitor. I play with some emotions, so I think fans will appreciate that side of me too,” he said.
Certa and the rest of the team will be in action for the first time this season in an exhibition against Georgia. Tipoff will take place on Friday night at 6:30 p.m.
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