Clemson basketball starter ruled out for season after ‘unfortunate’ knee injury
Update: Clemson confirmed in a news release late Thursday that forward Carter Welling suffered a torn ACL. There is “no timetable for Welling’s return,” meaning he’ll be out for the rest of the ACC Tournament and the NCAA Tournament.
The Clemson men’s basketball team lost a key starter in Wednesday’s ACC Tournament win against Wake Forest.
Tigers starting forward Carter Welling had to be helped off the court late in the first half after his right knee buckled during a drive to the basket. Welling was ruled out for the remainder of the game at halftime and will get an MRI.
Welling wasn’t on the bench for the majority of the second half of Clemson’s 71-62 win over Wake Forest at Spectrum Center. He came back out onto the floor late in the game using crutches and wearing an air cast/brace on his right knee area.
Coach Brad Brownell said postgame he didn’t have an immediate update on Welling but said it was “unlikely” that Welling plays in No. 5 seed Clemson’s Thursday quarterfinal game against No. 4 UNC (9:30 p.m., ESPN).
A formal update is expected as early as Thursday.
“Obviously they’re going to do MRIs and all those things,” Brownell said. “I find it unlikely that he would play tomorrow. But I haven’t been told anything definitive.”
Welling, a 6-foot-11 junior forward and transfer from Utah Valley, had five points and four rebounds in 12 first-half minutes before being injured. He’s averaging 10.4 points this season and has started 23 of 31 games for the Tigers.
He entered Wednesday as Clemson’s second-leading scorer. Welling is arguably Clemson’s most explosive frontcourt player and best dunker, and he’s made an impact on defense, averaging nearly one steal and one block per game.
With Welling sidelined, Clemson would likely start senior forward and Nevada transfer Nick Davidson in the frontcourt along senior RJ Godfrey. Davidson has started 11 of 32 games this year but recently ceded that role to Welling.
“Obviously disappointing because I thought we were playing really well tonight and would love to be at full strength,” Brownell said. “But that’s part of it. So regardless, we’ll figure out a way to combat that.”
Welling was visibly emotional in the moments after his knee buckled and as trainers helped him off the floor. If his injury is serious, he’d be the second prominent Tigers rotation player to suffer a season-ending injury. Freshman guard Zac Foster tore his ACL in December against South Carolina.
Oddly, this is also the second straight year Clemson’s seen a key rotation player get injured during the ACC Tournament. Guard Dillon Hunter broke his hand during the 2025 conference tournament and missed the NCAA Tournament as a result.
This story was originally published March 12, 2026 at 12:35 AM.
