Will Wade wins major recruiting battle for high quality local player
North Carolina native Cole Cloer grew up in a familly that rooted for the Wolfpack. Now he’s the #1 player in NC and will be wearing the red and white next season.
Cole Cloer is playing his senior season
at IMG Academy in Florida, he played his junor season at Caldwell Academy in Greensboro, and played his freshman and sophomore seasons less than an hour down the road at Orange High School in Hillsborough NC. He chose NC State from his list of final five schools, UNC-Chapel Hill, UConn, Alabama, the Wolfpack, and Florida. He joins center Trevon Carter-Givens in the Wolfpack’s 2026 class.
247 lists Cloer as 4-star, ranked #27. (247 ranked Matt Able at #28) ESPN shows him as 4-star and 25th in their ESPN 100. Will Wade has now signed two of the five highest ranked NC State recruits in the internet era. (Dennis Smith, Jr, CJ Leslie, Rodney Purvis, Matt Able)
- Height: 6’7”
- Weight: 190
- Position: Small forward
Cole spent the summer playing for team CP3 on the EYBL circuit, averaging 14.2 / 4.5.
247’s Director of Scouting, Adam Finkelstein evaluated Cloer in July
Cloer is a big-time shooter who also possesses good wing size and bounce at the rim. He has a high and compact release, gets beautiful loft and rotation on his ball, and is a threat to make all different types of shots. He can make threes on the move or off the dribble, knocked down 43% of his open spot-up threes in EYBL play, and also has a complimenting pull-up game with his ability to score overtop of most opposing wings. Most of all, he has that outward confidence and swagger that almost all great shot-makers share.
While Cloer isn’t really a creator off the dribble, he has a defined niche that is translatable to the highest levels and a good complimenting skill-set. He uses his shot-fake very well, has a long first step if he gets his defender in the air, good feel as a ball mover, a solid left hand, and can take smaller defenders into the post. He’s even shown some flashes of being able to be a secondary pick-and-roll threat.
Physically, he has very good positional size at over 6-foot-7 (with shoes) and the bounce to be a lob threat or rise-up for explosive open floor finishes. While he lacks ideal length and has a bit of a long neck, he’s gotten stronger and added some noticeable muscle mass definition. Defensively, increased strength and physicality will only benefit him, but there is room for growth with his footspeed and attention to detail at times.
