Duke basketball’s 2024-25 roster continues to take shape as Caleb Foster updates status
Next season’s Duke basketball team will have at least two guards on its roster with starting experience.
While Tyrese Proctor told the coaching staff last week he’d be returning for his junior season, freshman Caleb Foster never had any plans to leave Duke, and is excited about teaming with Proctor next season.
“Me and Tyrese learned a lot about what it takes to get to the Final Four and we’re trying to bring that next year,” Foster said on The Brotherhood podcast, a Duke athletics production that went public Monday.
The 6-5 Foster played in 27 games, with 15 starts, this season. A stress fracture in his right ankle ended his season in February, and he’s since had surgery to repair the injury. He expects to be back on the court by June.
Regardless of his health, Foster said he never considered entering the transfer portal, as three of his former teammates have already done.
“I chose a school. I chose Duke,” Foster said. “I’m 1,000% committed to Duke. I can’t really see myself playing anywhere else. I’m a loyal guy.”
Saying the ankle bothered him long before he played his final game on Feb. 24 at Wake Forest, Foster averaged 7.7 points and 2.1 assists for the Blue Devils. He hit 43.7% of his shots overall, including 40.6% of his 3-pointers.
With Proctor and Foster staying, only the third starting guard from this season’s 27-9 Blue Devils team, Jeremy Roach, has yet to make his plans for next season known. Roach has a fifth season of college eligibility available because his freshman season in 2020-21, during the COVID-19 pandemic, does not count against the NCAA’s four-season limit.
Whether or not Roach returns, having Proctor and Foster to anchor the ball-handling and playmaking duties figures to have coach Jon Scheyer’s team positioned for success next season. The incoming recruiting class, rated No. 1 nationally, is lead by national player of the year Cooper Flagg, a 6-9 forward.
The class is also heavy on interior players, like 7-1 center Khaman Maluach and 6-11 center Patrick Ngongba, as well as small forwards in 6-5 Darren Harris, 6-5 Kon Knueppel and 6-6 Isaiah Evans.
Two Duke players, forwards TJ Power and Sean Stewart, have yet to publicly announce their status for next season’s team. Each has three seasons of college eligibility remaining. Stewart and Power, both 6-9 forwards, were reserves on this season’s team as freshmen.
Guard Jaden Schutt, who also has three seasons of eligibility remaining, entered his name in the transfer portal on Monday. After playing sparingly as a freshman in the 2022-23 season, Schutt redshirted this season and had knee surgery.
Duke is also losing guard Jaylen Blakes, forward Mark Mitchell and center Christian Reeves to the transfer portal. Kyle Filipowski and Jared McCain are both entering their names in the NBA Draft, where they are projected as first-round picks. Ryan Young, a 6-10 graduate student center, has exhausted his NCAA eligibility.
This story was originally published April 15, 2024 at 12:38 PM.