Donnie Freeman, J.J. Starling announce returns to Syracuse for 2025-26
Donnie Freeman and J.J. Starling were the Orange's scoring average leaders in 2024-25. Leonardo Eriman | Asst. Video Editor
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Syracuse forward Donnie Freeman and point guard J.J. Starling will return to Syracuse next season, the program announced on social media Tuesday. Starling has one more year of collegiate eligibility remaining, while Freeman passed up on declaring for the 2025 NBA Draft or transferring to return for his sophomore year.
Freeman came to Syracuse with hefty expectations. He was SU’s highest recruit since Carmelo Anthony, finishing as 247Sports’ No. 15 overall recruit in the 2024 class. The forward spent the summer playing with the Bahamas National Team alongside players like DeAndre Ayton and Eric Gordon, as they looked to qualify for the Olympics. At SU, Freeman averaged 13.4 points per game before his season was cut short after 14 games with an injury.
Ahead of Syracuse’s matchup against Georgia Tech on Jan. 7, Freeman was announced as day-to-day, sporting a walking boot. Over the next few weeks, it was unknown if Freeman would return. On Feb. 8, the program announced he would have a procedure done that would sideline him for the rest of the season. At the time, it was unknown whether Freeman played his last game for Syracuse, but that changed Tuesday.
“My injury cut my season short and I can’t wait to get back in the gym with my guys and show what I’m capable of. I feel like I owe it to Orange Nation to run it back and get things back to the Orange Standard,” Freeman said in a statement on social media.
Freeman also posted on his X account, “Let’s run it back.”
In his second season with Syracuse after spending his freshman year at Notre Dame, Starling was its leading scorer this season, averaging 17.8 points per game. The junior missed seven games in December and January with a broken left hand, but returned against Florida State on Jan. 6. Due to the Orange’s lack of creators on the perimeter, Starling was forced to carry a large burden of their offense.
With Freeman and Starling returning, SU has a solid core heading into next season, despite Chris Bell, Elijah Moore, Kyle Cuffe Jr. and Chance Westry all entering the transfer portal this week. The Orange have the No. 10 overall recruiting class, bringing in three four-star freshmen in Sadiq White, Kiyan Anthony and Luke Fennell and three-star forward Aaron Womack.
Now, Syracuse will look to bring in key additions through the transfer portal, with General Manager Alex Kline at the helm in his first offseason with SU.
