NC State has brought in eight transfers as part of an all-new roster for year one under Will Wade in Raleigh. Among them, though, was the Wolfpacks’ addition of who Jon Rothstein thinks should be the clear favorite as Preseason ACC Player of the Year.

Rothstein looked at what the candidates for that recognition could look like considering the movement around the league on his show with CBS Sports on Monday. He, after looking around at all the programs, felt that Darrion Williams should “unequivocally” be the choice there as Preseason Player of the Year in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

“I started to dive in last week to the ACC, and you start looking at the personnel of the conference…The bottom line is this. When you’re evaluating next season, returning personnel in the ACC and you’re evaluating the optics of who’s coming into the conference with cachet? It is very difficult to forecast, in some ways, who the best players in the league are going to be entering next season,” said Rothstein. “Duke lost Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel, Clemson lost Chase Hunter, Ian Schieffelin. And now you’re looking at what teams have brought in. Louisville did a tremendous job in the transfer portal bringing in Ryan Conwell and Isaac McKneely. Obviously, Duke’s going to bring in a talented freshman class, and also Cam Boozer who I love as a face-up big man.”

“But, I think if you really split the atom, I think if you really look in deep? I think, unequivocally, you look at the personnel, you look at the criteria for the personnel, and then you start looking at the production of the personnel – and Darrion Williams, who transferred from Texas Tech to NC State, should unequivocally be the ACC Preseason Player of the Year,” Rothstein stated.

Williams, who withdrew his name from the 2025 NBA Draft, was the No. 5 player in the portal per On3’s 2025 Top Transfer Portal Players. That’s coming off his career-best season as a junior in Lubbock where he averaged 15.1 points (43.9% FG, 34% 3PT on 1.4 makes), 5.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.3 steals per game. He then improved his scoring, rebounding, steals, and three-point makes in their four games of March Madness in reaching the Elite Eight. He did all that while not being the leading contributor in any category for the Red Raiders, which Rothstein expects he’ll now get to be for the Wolfpack.

“Look at what Williams did in the NCAA Tournament last year. Four NCAA Tournament games for the Red Raiders, who advanced all the way to the Elite Eight before losing to Florida in a devastating loss in Northern California. What did Darrion Williams do in those four games? 21 points, seven rebounds, about three assists. That is what you are looking at if you are an NC State fan,” said Rothstein. “This is somebody, again, who was not the focal point for Texas Tech because Texas Tech had the Big 12 Player of the Year and an All-American in JT Toppin. Now Darrion Williams comes to NC State and he gets a bigger bite of the apple. Now Darrion Williams comes to NC State and he gets the opportunity to showcase his ability to be a focal point for Will Wade and the NC State Wolfpack.”

Williams will have to not only produce in a leading role but help NC State, with ten new players led by a Top-30 portal class, to success in their debut under Wade. If Rothstein’s very early projection is right, though, the Wolfpack could have one of the best players in the league, at least based on conference awards, for the first time in around a decade with Williams.

“If you’re looking again at a Preseason All-ACC First Team, I would go with Cam Boozer, I would go with Darrion Williams, I would go with Ryan Conwell…I would also go with Markus Burton, and I would go with Seth Trimble,” said Rothstein.

“It’s really, when you split the atom, based on winning, based on production, and based on the situation that he’s going to find himself in? Darrion Williams from NC State should unequivocally be the ACC Preseason Player of the Year entering the ’25-’26 season – and I don’t think it’s even much of a debate”