Clemson’s Transfer Trio Brings Utah and BYU Ties into Madison Square Garden Showdown

Clemson (7-2) is back on the national stage Tuesday night when the Tigers face No. 10 BYU (7-1) under the lights of Madison Square Garden in the Jimmy V Classic. The Tigers arrive in New York carrying one of the most intriguing subplots of the event, three transfers with meaningful personal or family ties to BYU and the state of Utah.

Clemson enters the matchup after a narrow loss at Alabama in Tuscaloosa during the ACC/SEC Challenge. The Tigers trailed by 19, surged back, and briefly held the lead twice — including a two-point advantage with 2:41 remaining — before falling to the 12th-ranked Crimson Tide. There’s little time to reset now, with BYU’s high-octane offense and fabulous freshman forward AJ Dybantsa (19.4 ppg) on deck inside the sport’s most iconic arena.

It’s only the third meeting between the programs — both previous matchups came in the NCAA Tournament. Clemson beat BYU 71–66 in the 1980 Second Round and edged the Cougars 49–47 in the 1990 First Round behind 15 points and seven rebounds from Clemson great Elden Campbell, who died tragically last week.

Three of Clemson’s five transfers, redshirt senior Nick Davidson (Nevada) and juniors Carter Welling (Utah Valley) and Jake Wahlin (Utah), bring personal history with BYU and the greater Utah basketball community.

Davidson grew up in Mission Viejo, Calif., but his deepest tie to Tuesday’s opponent comes through his late father. Kirk Davidson played at BYU during the 1989–90 season before finishing his career at Nevada. He passed away suddenly from a heart attack on April 3, just one day after Nick signed with Clemson. 

Welling and Wahlin take that connection even further

Welling is a Draper, Utah native who starred at Corner Canyon High School, earning 2021 All-State honors before serving a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Morristown, New Jersey. The center knows two Cougars personally — sophomore Brody Kozlowski was a high school teammate, while senior Richie Saunders, currently BYU’s second-leading scorer at 18.9 ppg, was an AAU teammate.

Welling played at UC-Irvine and Utah Valley before making Clemson his third Division I stop. 

Wahlin’s backstory is the most layered of the three.

A Provo native, born in BYU’s backyard, Wahlin originally signed with the Cougars out of Timpview High School as a 6-foot-8, 180-pound senior after serving a two-year mission in Lithuania. When he returned home, Wahlin reopened his recruitment, ultimately flipping to Utah. The decision was emotionally complicated given his deep family heritage at BYU: his father, Rick Wahlin, played football for the Cougars; his sister, Malery, is a former BYU volleyball player; and two brothers-in-law, including Malery’s husband, also suited up for BYU football.

“I think I just had a change of heart on my mission, and just kinda wanted to open things up as far as my recruitment goes,” Wahlin told the Deseret News in May 2023 about the switch. “A lot of things change over two years, so I just wanted to open things up again.”

Wahlin even acknowledged what it would mean to play against the program he once committed to.

“I hope there won’t be … bad blood,” he told the Deseret News. “That doesn’t mean I am not going to have a little chip on my shoulder and extra desire to beat them. Of course, that is going to be one of the biggest games for me my first year.”

Wahlin, also a teammate of Cougars starting center Keba Keita at Utah, did not play against BYU as a freshman, a Utah win, but as a sophomore, he averaged 6 points and 7.5 rebounds in a split of two games. That gives him a 2–1 record against his hometown school heading into Tuesday night — now wearing Clemson orange, not Utah red or BYU blue.

Wahlin has started every game for Clemson and is expected to draw the critical assignment of guarding Dybantsa, one of the nation’s most dynamic young forwards and a projected future NBA lottery pick. His length, rebounding, and defensive discipline will be key to containing the Cougars' leading scorer. 

Welling and Davidson have each started multiple games and are expected to play significant roles on both ends of the floor. Clemson will need all three transfers to help execute offensively and defensively if the Tigers hope to engineer an upset inside MSG.

This is Clemson’s second appearance in the Jimmy V Classic. The Tigers won their first, a 62–59 victory over Seton Hall on Dec. 19, 1997, behind 20 points from Greg Buckner, the father of redshirt freshman guard Ace Buckner.

Clemson and BYU are scheduled to tip at 6:30 p.m. ET, with the Tigers looking to honor their past, lean on their new faces, and capitalize on a stage where meaningful stories and memorable upsets tend to unfold.