Top transfer addition Nick Davidson breaks down his Clemson recruitment, NCAAs goal

Nick Davidson’s college career has been defined by winning.

Grayson Mann - Staff Writer - Thursday, April 17 2025

Nick Davidson’s college career has been defined by winning.

In what he calls his final crack at a shot for a tournament run, he knew Clemson was the spot he had to aim for.

Once he put his name into the portal, the Tigers quickly threw their hat into the ring. They were also quick to make a significant impression on the rising senior from the Nevada Wolf Pack.

“We set up a Zoom and it went really well,” Davidson told TigerNet. “They showed me the lay of the land, how their program works, how they saw my fit, and it was really appealing. I enjoyed it, and obviously knowing Clemson and their success, I wanted to go check it out and see it for myself.”

Davidson, a unanimous Top 50 transfer prospect, has watched Clemson from afar for the last two seasons, seeing Brad Brownell and the Tigers reach new heights with the program.

Before he got to campus, his impression of the program was already pretty strong. What he didn’t expect was Brownell’s personal touch in Davidson’s recruitment, which provided a unique experience that created the right ingredients for a successful sales pitch.

"So we got in the night before, and Coach Brownell was there waiting, and I was very shocked the head coach was waiting for me to get down from the airport,” Davidson said. “He was there, and it was so cool to see him and appreciate that very much, and it showed how much that I meant to them.”

That feeling of importance continued at a dinner with Davidson’s family and the coaching staff, where, after a long visit on campus, everything clicked that Clemson was the spot for him.

“So seeing that and seeing how the guys, the coaches stuck around and all of their families get along, I just got a great feel from that,” Davidson told TigerNet. “That was probably one of the moments that just clicked on this is screaming at me that this is a good spot with good people.”

For the highly touted transfer, there was also an extra punch that the Tigers had that separated them from the pack.

When it comes to Clemson’s success with one-year transfers, there’s plenty of positive evidence to pull from.

It has been some time since Joseph Girard gave an emotional sales pitch after Clemson’s run to the Elite Eight, telling players like him that his special experience doesn’t have to be just one story.

Viktor Lakhin and Jaeden Zackery listened.

Both transfers had career years wearing orange, taking the Tigers back to the NCAA Tournament.

While the results in the postseason didn’t pan out like they had planned, it didn’t take long for both to become fan favorites in one short season.

Davidson now hopes to add his name to that bunch.

“They (Clemson) showed me their success with one year guys, and obviously that's all I'm guaranteed,” Davidson told TigerNet. “I thought that was very appealing, especially stood out from other programs that I was deciding from, showing what they've been able to do and their ability to contribute to winning was super big. And seeing that they were able to make an impact was a big deciding factor for me.”

Not only does Davidson want to be included in Clemson’s list of successful transfers, but he also wants to be remembered for taking the Tigers back to the heights they reached in Los Angeles in the 2023-24 season.

In his final season of college hoops, that’s his mission, and he isn’t looking to sell himself short of that goal.

“That's the goal this season, and all that before the tournament is leading up to that,” Davidson said. “So the whole point of the season is to go as far as you can in March. And this was the first year that I actually missed it in my entire career. So I got one more crack at it. And it has to be a deep run. It has to be.”