Former Georgia Tech forward Claude has been cleared to play for UNC

By RL Bynum

Georgia Tech transfer forward Ty Claude was fully cleared to play at No. 9 North Carolina. A UNC spokesman confirmed Friday that Claude will be available for UNC's opening game Monday against Elon.

The 6-7, 230-pound graduate student, who announced his transfer in mid-August, did not participate in the Blue-White game or either exhibition due to eligibility reasons.

Claude is one of three UNC transfers, along with former Belmont winger Cade Tyson and former Vanderbilt forward Ven-Allen Lubin.

Claude's college career began at Morehead State in 2019 and he moved to Western Carolina in 2022 before playing for the Yellow Jackets last season. He missed the 2020–21 season due to injury. He finished his high school career at Moravian Prep after initially playing at Goldsboro High School.

Claude averaged 15.4 points and 8.6 rebounds for Western Carolina during the 2022-23 season. He played in 32 games at Georgia Tech last season, starting four of them. He scored 152 points and grabbed 165 rebounds.

Claude's career high was 24 points for Western Carolina against Samford on February 1, 2023. His best game for the Jackets last season was 19 points and six rebounds against Howard.

In Georgia Tech's 74-73 win over UNC on January 30, Claude played 28 minutes off the bench and collected nine points, eight rebounds and three blocks on 4 of 8 shooting. It was one of three three-block games in his career and gave him the most points in an ACC game. He also scored nine goals at Clemson on January 16th.