Wake Forest Forward Cooper Schwieger Enters Transfer Portal

The 6-10 junior struggled to make an impact in his lone season with the Demon Deacons.

Mar. 31, 2026 at 9:20pm

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A fractured, cubist-style painting depicting a basketball player's jump shot broken down into sharp, overlapping geometric shapes in muted tones, conceptually representing the loss of a key player and the challenges facing the team.The departure of forward Cooper Schwieger leaves a void in Wake Forest's frontcourt that the team must address through the transfer portal.Valparaiso Today

Wake Forest junior forward Cooper Schwieger has entered the NCAA transfer portal, becoming the third Demon Deacon to do so this offseason. Schwieger, a 6-10 Kansas native, averaged just 5.1 points and 2.5 rebounds per game this past season after transferring from Valparaiso, where he had a much more productive sophomore campaign.

Why it matters

Schwieger's departure is a significant loss for a Wake Forest team that struggled mightily on the interior this past season, ranking near the bottom of Division I in several key defensive and rebounding metrics. The Demon Deacons will now need to find a replacement big man to shore up their frontcourt ahead of the 2026-27 season.

The details

After averaging 15.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks per game at Valparaiso in 2024-25, Schwieger's production plummeted during his lone season at Wake Forest. The junior saw his minutes, points, rebounds, and blocks all decrease significantly as the Demon Deacons lacked a consistent interior presence on both ends of the floor.

  • Schwieger entered the NCAA transfer portal on March 31, 2026.

The players

Cooper Schwieger

A 6-10 junior forward who transferred from Valparaiso to Wake Forest for the 2025-26 season.

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What’s next

Wake Forest will now need to scour the transfer portal and recruiting landscape to find a replacement big man to shore up their frontcourt ahead of the 2026-27 season.

The takeaway

Schwieger's struggles and subsequent transfer portal entry highlight the continued challenges Wake Forest faces in rebuilding its roster and finding consistent production in the paint, an area that has plagued the Demon Deacons for multiple seasons.