Clemson head coach Brad Brownell met with the media on Thursday ahead of the eighth-seeded Tigers’ matchup against No. 9 seed Iowa in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament on Friday (6:50 p.m., TNT) at the Benchmark International Arena in Tampa, Fla.

With junior forward Carter Welling out, Brownell says the Tigers will depend more on redshirt senior forward Nick Davidson, while true freshman forward Chase Thompson will also “get a few more reps.”

Welling suffered a torn ACL during Clemson’s win over Wake Forest in the second round of the ACC Tournament on March 11. He was averaging 10.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game this season while shooting 49.3 percent from the field.

“Obviously disappointed that Carter won’t be with us,” Brownell said. “You hate that for anybody, especially a guy that’s come this far this season, and I think was really starting to play well and feel comfortable. It’s just more responsibility for our big guys, certainly RJ Godfrey, who’s having a terrific year for us and does a really good job on both ends. But Nick Davidson, I think, is a really important piece.

“The heartbeat of our team has kind of been those three bigs, and now we’re a man down. It’s going to be next man up. Chase Thompson will get a few more reps.”

Brownell also indicated Clemson could get a player back from injury in true freshman forward Trent Steinour.

Steinour has been sidelined by a shoulder injury. The 6-foot-10, 218-pounder has played in only six games this season, totaling six points with seven total rebounds. He is 1-of-4 from the field and 4-of-6 from the free-throw line.

Brownell says Steinour could see playing time against Iowa with Welling out.

“Trent Steinour is healthy again and might even get some opportunity, you never know,” Brownell said.

Steinour was a three-star prospect in the 2025 class, according to 247Sports. He is the grandson of former Clemson big man Randy Mahaffey, who played for the Tigers from 1964-67.

Steinour concluded his prep career at Lake Norman (N.C.) with 1,312 points, 968 rebounds and 376 blocks, making him the school’s all-time leader in both rebounds and blocked shots. As a senior, he averaged 18.0 points, 11.0 rebounds and 4.0 blocks per game, leading Lake Norman to multiple deep playoff runs, including an Elite Eight appearance in the NCHSAA state tournament. As a junior, he averaged 16.0 points, 10.5 rebounds and 4.3 blocks per game and helped lead Lake Norman to the Elite Eight of the NCHSAA state tournament.

Steinour chose Clemson over Georgia, Penn State, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest and South Carolina.