Intriguing transfer portal forward locks in official visit to Duke basketball

Typically, November isn't the time when programs get players in the transfer portal to town for official visits, but the Duke basketball program has shown continued interest in intriguing Princeton transfer forward Caden Pierce. It was recently reported that the Blue Devils had shown interest in the talented forward, but it was unclear how serious any potential talks between Duke and Pierce were. It looks like Jon Scheyer and his staff have shown some intrigue in the situation, as Pierce scheduled several official visits over the coming weeks, and one of them will be to Durham. Scheyer and Co. still stick with the makeup of revolving their teams around elite freshmen with complementary transfers, and Pierce could fit that mold well.

The Blue Devils didn't bring in any impact transfers this past offseason since so many key players from the 2024-25 squad returned to Duke. Top portal guard Cedric Coward was committed to the Blue Devils, but ultimately elected to stay in the 2025 NBA Draft. However, Scheyer still utilizes the portal when necessary, and it proved to pay dividends through the team's 2024-25 Final Four run. Duke brought in veteran role players in Sion James from Tulane, Mason Gillis from Purdue, and Maliq Brown from Syracuse. All three were crucial pieces for the Blue Devils throughout the postseason, and Brown is back in Durham for his senior season, regarded as potentially the best defender in all of college basketball.

Duke basketball locks in official visit with Princeton transfer forward Caden Pierce

Pierce is a very interesting transfer situation. The forward entered the portal this summer while redshirting the 2025-26 season, to finish his degree in New Jersey, then use his final year of eligibility for the 2026-27 season. It was recently reported that Pierce will visit Purdue this weekend and will take visits to Gonzaga, Duke, Louisville, and UConn in the coming weeks. Pierce has also already visited Grand Canyon.

The rising senior will be a difficult player for programs to evaluate with the redshirt year, as he's had a bit of an up-and-down collegiate career at Princeton. After averaging 8.2 points and 7.3 rebounds on 42.6% shooting from the field as a freshman, Pierce exploded in 2023-24, averaging 16.6 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 3.2 assists on 54.6% shooting, earning 2023-24 Ivy League Player of the Year honors. Then in 2024-25, his numbers dropped, as the big averaged 11.2 points and 7.2 rebounds on 46.5% shooting.

This is a very interesting situation for Duke fans to follow throughout the course of the season, but the Duke program has shown some early engagement in Pierce.