Syracuse forward Donnie Freeman enters transfer portal
Freeman averaged 15.3 points and 6.45 rebounds per game over two seasons with the Orange. Zoe Xixis | Asst. Photo Editor
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Syracuse sophomore forward Donnie Freeman has entered the transfer portal, he announced on social media Tuesday. Freeman spent two seasons with the Orange, where he averaged 15.3 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. He’s the sixth Syracuse player to enter the portal, joining Tyler Betsey, Naithan George, Luke Fennell, Aaron Womack and Tiefing Diawara.
Freeman came to Syracuse as the program’s highest-ranked recruit since 2012. The Washington, D.C., native was a five-star recruit, according to 247Sports and the 15th-best player in the 2024 recruiting class. Freeman’s freshman season was turbulent. He started out solid, averaging 13.4 points on 50.4% shooting from the field.
Then came a foot injury, which kept him out of SU’s final 19 games. Initially, the forward was ruled as “day-to-day” by Adrian Autry. A month after that, Autry said Freeman would be done for the season.
Despite a less-than-desirable first season, with Syracuse winning just 14 games, Freeman returned. Alongside J.J. Starling, the duo hoped to lead the Orange to their first NCAA Tournament since 2021. Instead, more injury troubles hampered Freeman, and SU’s season went awry.
Freeman missed all three games at the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas in November and nine overall. Syracuse went 5-4 in the games he missed, including a crushing loss to Hofstra at home.
When he returned to full health, Freeman couldn’t resurrect SU’s season. He led the Orange in scoring, averaging 16.5 points per game, but they finished 15-17. After missing out on the NCAA Tournament for the fifth straight season and third under Autry, the head coach was fired.
Even hiring Gerry McNamara — who helped recruit Freeman to SU — couldn’t retain the former five-star recruit.
Now, Syracuse is rebuilding its roster under McNamara. The Orange brought in international prospect Mark Morano Mahmutovič and former Siena forward Gavin Doty, but still have plenty of work to do in the portal over the coming weeks.
