NC State basketball forward enters transfer portal after one season in Raleigh
Add another member of the 2025-26 N.C. State men’s basketball roster to the list of players in the transfer portal.
Freshman forward Musa Sagnia entered the portal after one season with the Wolfpack. He came off the bench behind Ven-Allen Lubin and appeared midway through the season like he’d settled into the role. Sagnia, however, saw his role and success dwindle in the final seven games of the season.
Sagnia averaged 2.3 points and 2.8 rebounds per game in 34 appearances. He scored a career-high 10 points in N.C. State’s 88-68 win over Syracuse and added a career-high 10 rebounds against Alabama-Birmingham. During the 93-64 loss to Duke, Sagnia contributed four points and eight rebounds. He ranked behind Lubin in field goal shooting, hitting 59.7% of his attempts.
The freshman came to Raleigh from The Gambia in West Africa. He played professionally in Spain before entering the college ranks. It took him a while to adjust to the college style, which is often less physical than international play. Sagnia acclimatized to NCAA hoops and settled into a backup role.
“He’s just getting more confident, more comfortable,” then-Wolfpack senior Darrion Williams said in January. “He’s in there every day with Coach (Adam) Howard, putting work in. We worked out together this morning. He’s constantly in the gym, and I think as his confidence grows, it’ll help us out a lot as a team.”
Musa Sagnia at NC State
Sagnia’s best stretch came late in the nonconference season and in the first half of the ACC schedule. Like the rest of the team, he struggled at times down the stretch.
The rookie finished with 96 total rebounds and was second to Lubin in offensive rebounding, adding 43 boards on the offensive glass.
Sagnia was a late addition to the roster last season, enrolling and getting on campus shortly before classes began last August. Former coach Will Wade said the university worked with boosters and politicians to ensure Sagnia received his visa and could start classes on time.
“We figured things out. May not always be pretty, it may not always be seamless, but we’re gonna get it done,” Wade said. “We got the job done, and there’s a lot of people that helped get that done. He’s gonna be the difference in us winning two or three games this year, and there’s gonna be a lot of happy people. We’re very appreciative of everybody’s dedication and hard work to make it happen.”
Sagnia is the ninth N.C. State player, including signee Cole Cloer, to enter the portal following Wade’s departure. The transfer portal closes to new entrants on April 21, but players do not have to commit before that date. Zymicah Wilkins is the only eligible returner who has not entered the portal.
