Santa Clara transfer guard Christian Hammond commits to NC State

If a specific coach’s tenure at any given school in this current climate doesn’t begin until he gets a transfer portal commitment, then Justin Gainey’s time at NC State is officially underway. 

The Wolfpack picked up a commitment from Santa Clara transfer guard Christian Hammond following his official visit to campus this weekend. He has two seasons of eligibility remaining.

Hammond, who stands at 6-foot-3, 180 pounds, has a critical tie to Gainey after spending the past three years with the Broncos under former Pack coach Herb Sendek. Gainey spent all four of his collegiate seasons under Sendek, while he was also an assistant at Santa Clara for the 2017-18 campaign.

That connection proved to be useful for Gainey, who kept tabs on Santa Clara throughout the season watching his mentor’s team when he had time serving as Tennessee’s associate head coach.

Hammond posted a breakout campaign as a redshirt sophomore this past season. He logged a team-best 15.6 points with 3.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists on 48.4 percent shooting (39.3 percent from three-point distance) in the process.

The Denver, Colo., native scored in double figures in 27 of his 34 games played (all starts), including 24 points against Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference title game March 10. He logged a career-best 27 points in Santa Clara’s 98-83 win over Nevada Nov. 15. 

Hammond was a first-team All-WCC selection this past season, which also featured 10 games with at least 20 points. While he proved he can score against quality competition, Hammond also has a good sense of where his teammates are on the floor as he turned in three or more assists 15 times, including a season-best five at Portland Dec. 30.

Although Hammond put together one of the best seasons in the WCC this year, it was a long time coming. He played sparingly as a freshman during the 2023-24 campaign, averaging 3.7 points and 1.7 rebounds in 19 games, and elected to redshirt his sophomore year to develop more as a guard. 

That decision paid off with a career-best campaign to set him up as one of the coveted transfer portal guards available — On3 ranked him as the No. 11 point guard and No. 52 overall transfer. And NC State, led by Gainey, was able to close the deal to begin building the roster for the 2026-27 season.