CLEMSON, S.C. — Clemson University men’s basketball Head Coach Brad Brownell and his staff have officially completed its transfer class and has added Cole Certa (Le Roy, Illinois/IMG Academy), Dylan Faulkner (Calhoun, Ga./Calhoun), Liutauras Lelevicius (lih-TAO-ris, le-LEH-vich-us) (Kaunas, Lithuania) and David Fuchs (DAH-vid Fooks; rhymes with “Cooks”) (Vienna, Austria).
Certa spent two years within the ACC at league foe Notre Dame from 2024-26. He appeared in 31 games last season, which included 16 starts and averaged 12.8 points per game. Over his last 11 games, he scored in double-figures 10 times, including three 30-point outings and averaged 19.5 points per contest for the Irish during that span.
Certa’s three 30+ point games from Jan. 27 and on trailed only Stanford’s Ebuka Okorie (4). He owned the third and fifth highest scoring performances in league play.
He received votes for the ACC’s Most Improved Player after a +13.6-scoring average from his freshman to sophomore season in league play.
“Cole is an elite shooter who has proven himself to be a high-level scorer in the ACC,” said Brownell. “He not only has range shooting but he’s a player we think can make plays off the dribble. I really like his competitive spirit and I’m anxious to coach him this season.”
Faulkner spent one season at Samford after playing two years at Lipscomb, all for the same head coach – Lennie Acuff. He totaled his first 500-point season (515) of his career and added 257 rebounds for the Bulldogs last season.
Faulkner added nine 20-point games last season, including a career-high 27 points at Mercer with a career-best 12 made field goals. He collected 11 double-doubles last year, including seven in a row from Jan. 29 to Feb. 19.
He spent two seasons at Lipscomb where he logged 44 games played, including 13 starts before suffering injury during his sophomore season. He was named Atlantic Sun Newcomer of the Week once during freshman campaign.
“Dylan is a good athlete with an extremely high motor,” said Brownell. “He has a knack for rebounding and has certainly developed into one of the best post players in the Southern Conference. Having played for one of the best in Coach Acuff, he should adjust very quickly to our system of play.”
Lelevicius spent one year at Oregon State and one at TCU prior to his signing with Clemson this offseason. He is a veteran of 67 games played, including 46 starts in his career. A known 3-point shooter, Lelevicius is a 38.0 percent career shooter from behind the arc, including a career-best 38.0 percent last year at TCU.
He averaged 8.0 points and 3.4 rebounds last season, while shooting a team-best 88.7 percent from the free throw line. Lelevicius produced 14 double-figure scoring games, including one of 20 or more points with a season-high 23 at Kansas on Jan. 6.
Lelevicius competed for Lithuania at the 2023 FIBA U20 European Championships, averaging 17.6 points and 3.7 rebounds.
“LT is a versatile forward who’s shooting ability will put stress on defenses,” said Brownell. “He has a great deal of experience at this level and internationally for Lithuania.”
Fuchs transfers to Clemson for his senior season. He was named the WCC Newcomer of the Year and All-WCC Second Team in 2025-26 at San Francisco.
He appeared in 29 games for the Dons last season and made 19 starts. Fuchs averaged 12.7 points and 7.8 rebounds in 24.0 minutes per game. He led the team in total rebounds (225), offensive rebounds (68), defensive rebounds (157), rebounds per game (7.8), and field goal percentage (51.7).
He netted double-figures 19 times, including six 20-point games. Fuchs scored a career-high 30 points in a win over Pacific on Jan. 31.
In two years at Rhode Island prior to San Francisco, Fuchs appeared in 56 games and made 25 starts while averaging 7.6 points and 7.0 rebounds.
Fuchs is one of 12 players in the country from 2023-24 to 2025-26 to post at least 796 points and 617 rebounds during that span and do so in less than 85 games. He joined the likes of Johni Broome, Hunter Dickinson, Norchad Omier, Oumar Ballo, Maxime Raynaud and Danny Wolf among others.
“David is a mature, physical post player who can play out of both the high and low post,” said Brownell. “He is also an elite rebounder, who’s physicality and toughness will be very important to this team.”
