JUST IN: Two NC State basketball players have left the program 

Ernest Ross and MJ Rice, two men’s basketball players for N.C. State, have left the team, an official from the university revealed on Tuesday.
Neither player has made a public remark, and N.C. State has not provided any information on the reason for their departures.
Although Rice’s X (previously Twitter) account has been removed, the Henderson, North Carolina native continues to feature NC State basketball in his Instagram biography. Florida native Ross registered on the transfer portal in April, then on May 11, he declared his intention to attend UTSA. Four days later, the junior forward declared he was going back to N.C. State.

Ross played for the Wolfpack for three seasons, averaging 2.3 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 0.6 blocks per contest. 114 rebounds and 145 points were his final stats. Last season, he played in 14 games and finished with two field goals, one of which came against North Carolina in the ACC championship game. Ross made 34 appearances and shot 44 of 88 from the field the previous season.

After spending his true freshman year at Kansas, Rice transferred to N.C. State last season. He averaged 4.1 points and 1.9 rebounds per game while playing for the Wolfpack in nine different games. After taking a leave of absence for personal reasons, the sophomore began the season in December. However, the program confirmed in January that Rice would miss the rest of the season. The two athletes are unable to transfer to another Division I university without first requesting an NCAA waiver because the Division I transfer portal admission deadline expired on May 1.

Their departures mean the program has one scholarship remaining. Jayden Taylor, Breon Pass, Michael O’Connell, Ben Middlebrooks and Dennis Parker are set to return for 2024-25. Brandon Huntley-Hatfield, Dontrez Styles, Mike James, Marcus Hill and recent commit Ismael Diouf join the program from the transfer portal.

Paul McNeil and Trey Parker come to Raleigh as incoming freshmen. The Wolfpack lost six other players this offseason. Kam Woods, LJ Thomas and Alex Nunnally entered the transfer portal after the Final Four. Casey Morsell, DJ Horne and DJ Burns exhausted their collegiate eligibility, while Mohamed Diarra entered the NBA Draft.