Western Carolina transfer Marcus Kell has announced his commitment to the Furman Paladins after an on-campus visit during the first weekend of the open transfer portal. Bob Richey recruited Kell out of high school and will now have the chance to coach him in college.
Kell, a Rock Hill native, is a versatile forward who can score on all three levels and gets himself to the free throw line. Furman fans may be familiar with his performances against the Paladins, notably his 29 point, 8 rebound performance in February of 2025. Kell scored in double figures both times against the Dins this season, including 16 in the Catamounts overtime win at Timmons. Now, he’ll be doing it for the right shade of purple.
As a graduate transfer, Kell will be exempt from the SoCon in-conference transfer regulations and will be able to play immediately. He’ll have one year of eligibility.
Marcus was a preseason All-SoCon selection and averaged 13.6 points and 4.8 rebounds in ‘25-26. He struggled at times from three this year, but was a 38% shooter from beyond the arc in ‘24-25. Kell is a big early pickup and is likely to be preseason All-Conference once again.
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Quality signing, I do think that Furman is going to end up with the top talent in the conference, considering that everyone lost people. Alex Wilkins going was hardly surprising, just too much talent not to cash in. As a UMass grad, I'm just crossing my fingers he doesn't go to UConn (not that UMass plays UConn, I just don't like them). Cooper Bowser, not surprising either. Although, is he completely healed from Turf Toe? Thomas and Bronson are very disappointing departures, I thought they'd be huge focal points next year. I don't enjoy this era of free agency as much, but happy that Furman is at least better positioned than most in the SoCon.