Purdue Pushing For Award-Winning Center in College Basketball Transfer Portal
The Purdue Boilermakers' shot at a national championship was lost after a late-round exit in the NCAA Tournament. Entering March Madness as the No. 2 seed in the West Region, they suffered a 79-64 Elite Eight loss to the No. 1 Arizona Wildcats.
Despite that, it was still a solid year for the Boilermakers, going 30-9 overall and 13-7 in conference matchups. The offseason now offers Matt Painter and the rest of his coaching staff the opportunity to retool. The transfer portal has been a big area of focus.
So far, Purdue has avoided casualties in the portal, with zero players entering their name since it officially opened on April 7.
Painter has his eyes on a handful of talented players, though. Jamie Shaw, On3's senior national recruiting analyst, reports that Purdue is one of the few teams making a push for Appalachian State Mountaineers center Luke Wilson.
"The 6-foot-9, 255-pound post player took his first visit of the cycle this weekend; UCLA got that visit," Shaw wrote. "He has also conducted Zoom meetings with Purdue, Seton Hall, Georgetown, and Mississippi State. No other visits are on the schedule yet."
The big man from Augusta, Georgia, appeared in 32 games and made 30 starts last season for the Mountaineers. He averaged 10.7 points, 8.3 rebounds and 0.6 assists while also shooting 64.2% from the field.
He was also a defensive anchor for Appalachian State. The redshirt sophomore was named the Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Year. With two more years of eligibility, On3 Industry Rankings place him as the No. 21 center to hit the portal this offseason.
After putting together his best season with the Mountaineers, it's no surprise that Purdue is showing interest. If Wilson does choose the Boilermakers, he could be their second transfer addition this offseason, joining forward Caden Pierce (Princeton).
Related: Alabama Forward Aiden Sherrell Predicted to Transfer to Struggling Big Ten Team
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This story was originally published April 14, 2026 at 9:38 AM.