Published Apr 18, 2025
Nate Calmese commits to Wake Forest
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Conor O'Neill  •  DeaconsIllustrated
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Deacons add point guard from Washington State

Wake Forest has a commitment from its projected starter at point guard.

Nate Calmese announced his commitment to Wake Forest on Friday afternoon. He’ll be on his fourth school in four seasons, having gone from Lamar to Washington to Washington State.

For the Cougars — who played in the West Coast Conference — this past season, Calmese averaged 15.2 points and 4.4 assists per game. He had a 27-point game against Iowa early in the season; he had a 16-point, 11-assist game in the last one he played for Washington State (a loss to San Francisco in the WCC tournament).

Calmese was a 29.1% 3-point shooter this past season (41 of 141); he was a 36.7% 3-point shooter at Lamar in his freshman season (61 of 166), and only made 9 of 34 3-pointers in his season at Washington.

The 6-2, 164-pounder started all 31 games in his freshman season at Lamar. Calmese’s playing time at Washington was sporadic; he played in 16 of 32 games and other than appearing in the first four games of the season, never appeared in more than two straight games.

He started all 33 of Washington State’s games through the WCC tournament; he didn’t play in the Cougars’ loss to Georgetown in the College Basketball Crown tournament, which was played after he entered the transfer portal.

In Calmese’s history is one of the programs where another Deacons transfer is coming from — Mekhi Mason spent this past season at Washington. Calmese was there two seasons ago, though, meaning they didn’t overlap as teammates.

But they did visit Wake Forest together, early this week. And both are from Gilbert, Ariz., but went to different high schools — Calmese at Mesquite High School, Mason at Compass Prep.

Wake’s heavy lifting in transfer portal additions seems to be finished; Calmese joins Mason, Cooper Schwieger (center from Valparaiso) and Myles Colvin (wing from Purdue).

That quartet is combined with returning players Tre’Von Spillers, Juke Harris, Omaha Biliew and Marqus Marion, along with incoming freshman Isaac Carr.