Athlete BJ Mack brings transfer experience to campus

Charlotte, North Carolina; Mouth of Wilson, Virginia; Tampa, Florida; Spartanburg, South Carolina. What do these cities spotted across the Southeast have in common? The answer is 6-foot-8 forward B.J. Mack.

Mack ‘23, a junior basketball player, is well-versed in travel and new experiences. After leading Charlotte Catholic School to their first state championship as a freshman and being named first-team All-State as a sophomore at Charlotte Christian School, the versatile forward/center transferred to national powerhouse Oak Hill Academy for his final two years. 

He then committed to the University of South Florida to play collegiate basketball, but transferred after only one year. 

“I transferred from USF because I was far away from home,”  said the Charlotte, NC native. “I missed my family and a lot of the family traditions that I was usually there for.”

After an impressive recruitment list that included the likes of Elon, Mercer, and UNCG, Mack ultimately selected Wofford.

“I chose Wofford because it was closer to home and gave me an opportunity to showcase my talents,” explained Mack. “I felt a sense of home here and saw how the guys are a close-knit family. When I showed up on campus, I knew that sense I had was right.” 

Since arriving at Wofford, that sense Mack felt has led him to be an instrumental part of the basketball team, averaging 6.8 points and 3.3 rebounds per game over the course of his debut season. 

Mack’s presence at Wofford has not only been appreciated by teammates and Terrier fans, but also by the Wofford and greater Spartanburg community. This summer, Mack worked an internship at the Spartanburg Boys and Girls Club where he served as a mentor and role model for local elementary school children, which he described as a great and formative experience.

The transfer story into Wofford is a historically uncommon one. As a small liberal arts college with strong athletic success through conventional recruitment efforts, Wofford has not traditionally relied on transfer athletes to bolster their programs. 

Even for non-athletes, there are not many transfer students that matriculate into the school after beginning their collegiate career elsewhere. According to the Office of the Provost, Wofford’s retention rate from the Class of 2019 was 90.3% and the 4-year graduation rate from those who entered in the Fall of 2016 is 79.77%. This past year, there were only 20 transfer students overall in the largest incoming class in Wofford’s history.

However, with NCAA transfer rules becoming more relaxed and player-friendly, programs across the nation have seen tremendous upticks in athletes coming and going, and, with the additional year of eligibility granted to athletes as part of the NCAA’s COVID-19 response, this number grew even more than anticipated. 

For schools with no graduate programs, such as Wofford, many redshirt juniors and seniors transferred to other programs after receiving their undergraduate degrees at their first school. But for Mack, the transfer experience at Wofford has been a good one so far.

“I’ve made a lot of new friends around campus and since everything is starting to feel normal again, I’m able to get a real college experience that I didn’t get last year with COVID and having school online,” he explained.