Paul McNeil is staying at NC State. The Rockingham native announced Friday night that he will return to the Wolfpack after entering the NCAA transfer portal in April and drawing reported interest from North Carolina, Virginia Tech, LSU and Kentucky.
The decision ends weeks of unease around a player whose rise had become one of the better stories in the ACC. McNeil was the lone scholarship player to return to N.C. State last season, and he went from 4.2 points and 1.3 rebounds in 24 appearances as a freshman to 13.8 points and 3.6 rebounds in 34 games this season. His 3-point shooting jumped from 35.6% to 42.7%, a mark that led the ACC and ranked among the top 20 nationally. He finished with 105 made 3-pointers, tying DJ Horne’s single-season program record.
McNeil had already made clear how strongly he felt about the program long before the portal drama began. Before the 2024-25 season, he said, “I’ve been committed since I was in 10th grade, so I was coming here regardless,” and added, “No matter what, I was coming. I love the environment. I love the city, I love the staff, and I love the fans.”
That bond only grew as his role expanded. McNeil scored a career-high 47 points against Texas Southern in the program’s annual heritage game at Reynolds Coliseum, hitting 11 3-pointers, scoring 26 points in the first half and adding 10 rebounds. For a player who spent much of his early career waiting for a bigger stage, it became the kind of night that followed him into the broader conversation around his future.
The gap between his April portal entry and Friday’s announcement had fans wondering whether he would leave after his breakout season, especially as rumors circulated and no decision came. McNeil’s choice keeps one of NC State’s most productive shooters in place, and it preserves a home-state connection he has spoken about as central to why he came to Raleigh in the first place.
