When Carter Welling crumpled to the floor with a torn ACL during an ACC Tournament game in Charlotte, the whole Clemson fan base held its breath.
Three months later, the outlook is a lot brighter.
Brad Brownell gave Tiger fans some good news on Wednesday, saying Welling’s recovery is trending in the right direction. There’s no firm return date yet, but the hope inside the program is that he’ll be back on the floor at some point during the 2026-27 season.
“We’re hopeful that if he’s doing well and he wants to play, he’ll play. Maybe that’s December or January,” Brownell said.
So a midseason return is on the table, with December or January floated as possible windows. The rest comes down to how Welling handles his rehab over the coming months — and that’s not something anyone around the program is worried about.
The injury cut short what was turning into a strong debut season at Clemson. Across 32 games with 24 starts, the 6-foot-10 forward showed he belonged, averaging 10.2 points and 5.4 rebounds while holding down the paint on defense. He shot right around 50% from the field and could stretch the floor with his three-point shot, which made him a tough matchup up front.
Welling arrived with a track record, too. At Utah Valley he was named WAC Defensive Player of the Year and earned all-conference honors, putting up 13.1 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.8 blocks a game. The Draper, Utah native started his career at UC Irvine, where he played 30 games as a freshman, before breaking out at Utah Valley and eventually landing at Clemson.
There’s still road left in the recovery, but Brownell’s update gives Clemson fans real reason to think Welling could be back in the lineup before the season’s over.
