Caden Pierce Transfers to Purdue CBB After Visits to Duke, UConn, Louisville, More

Former Princeton forward Caden Pierce committed to Purdue on Friday, according to ESPN's Jeff Borzello.

"When I was on campus, with the coaches and with the guys, it felt like a great place for me," Pierce said, per Borzello. "I wanted to be a part of that program."

Borzello noted that Pierce visited UConn, Duke, Louisville and Gonzaga before choosing to join the Boilermakers.

He spent the first three years of his college career at Princeton, earning Ivy League Player of the Year honors for the 2023-24 season.

In July 2025, Pierce announced his plan to redshirt the 2025-26 season in order to finish his degree before entering the transfer portal and playing for another school with one year of eligibility remaining.

He started 31 of his 32 games played as a freshman with the Tigers during his 2022-23 campaign, averaging 8.2 points per game and helping them advance to the Sweet 16 of the 2023 NCAA Tournament.

Pierce blossomed offensively the following year, recording 16.6 points and 9.2 rebounds per game on 54.6/34.2/76.7 shooting splits.

He wasn't able to replicate his production for the 2024-25 season, as his scoring average dipped to 11.2 points per game. Pierce also shot just 46.5 percent from the field while connecting on 31.6 percent of his triples.

Still, it's worth noting that he played through an ankle sprain in which he tore multiple ligaments in Dec. 2024.

The health issues appear to be behind him now, though.

"I'm feeling great," Pierce said Friday, per Borzello. "That's been the nice thing about this year. I've been able to address whatever deficiencies I had without feeling like I had to play through injury or whatever I had. I was able to move at my own pace, get my body feeling great and stronger than ever."

As for Purdue, head coach Matt Painter's squad currently owns a 20-4 overall record and sits at No. 5 in the Big Ten standings.