The Scout: Charleston Southern - Riley Brooks
Breaking down the game of Charleston Southern wing Riley Brooks
As we enter this second wrap-around of the league for The Scout, you will notice something is different.
There will be NO guard breakdowns (except for one for Presbyterian).
That is because the 2nd half will be a breakdown of the league’s wings and big men, compared to the first half’s breakdown of wings and guards.
Without further ado, let’s break down the game of Charleston Southern’s new transfer wing, Riley Brooks.
Player Bio:
Before transferring to Charleston Southern, Brooks spent 3 seasons across 2 schools, beginning at D2 Northern Michigan before spending his past two seasons at Carthage in his home state of Wisconsin.
2023-24 (Freshman Season at Northern Michigan)
Playing 28 games including 10 starts as a true freshman, averaging 7.5 PPG, 1.8 RPG, and 0.9 APG across 22.4 MPG.
Was a part of a GLIAC Championship and appeared in the NCAA Tournament.
Brooks led Northern Michigan in FT Percentage with 90.9% and shot 38% from 3.
2024-25 (Sophomore Season at Carthage College)
Appeared and started in all 28 games, averaging 15.8 PPG, 4.2 RPG, and 1.1 APG across 33.6 MPG.
Earned All CCIW First Team Selection Honors
Brooks led Carthage in scoring while being 4th in rebounding and 4th in steals.
2025-26 (Junior Season at Carthage College)
Appeared and started in 26 games, averaging 17.5 PPG, 5.3 RPG, and 1.1 APG across 29.7 MPG.
Earned All-CCIW First Team Selection Honors and scored his 1000th career point.
Brooks once again led Carthage in scoring and ranked 7th in the CCIW, while finishing 2nd on his team in rebounding, FT% and 3PT% with over 20 attempts.
Film Review:
Elite Coaches:
The first thing I notice when I look at Riley Brooks is that he has played under elite-level coaches at both Northern Michigan and Carthage College. Beginning at Northern Michigan as a freshman, Brooks played under now-current Northern Illinois coach Matt Majkrzak. Then transferring to Carthage to play 2 seasons for Steve Djurickovic, former Carthage star and son of Top 30 D3 Wins coach Bosko Djurickovic.
Despite holding multiple Division One offers from high-level schools like Toledo and Indiana State and being a Top 300 recruit, Brooks took a different route than most, going to Division Two, Northern Michigan. That choice would end up paying off as in Brooks’ freshman season, he appeared in 28 games, averaging 7.5 PPG. The season also paid off in a bigger way as Brooks made his first NCAA Tournament, going 22-11 before falling in the First Round to Ferris State.
After his freshman season at Northern Michigan, Brooks went from one elite basketball mind in Matt Majkrzak to another elite mind in Steve Djurickovic at Carthage College. During that 1st season at Carthage, it could not have been much better. Brooks averaged 15.8 PPG, helping Carthage go 21-7 and have their most conference wins in program history, eventually culminating in Carthage’s first NCAA Tournament Berth since 2010. Then, in the following season averaged 17.5 PPG, leading to a transfer to the Division 1 level.
Two things were common during his two stays at Northern Michigan and Carthage College: being around elite coaches and being around winning. During Brooks’ 3 seasons in college basketball, his teams have gone 61-26, with two trips to the NCAA Tournament. Brooks’ ability to learn from elite coaches and win while doing so should translate immediately to the highest level at which he has played.
3 Level Scorer:
One of the most fascinating parts of Brooks’ offensive skill set is his ability to score from almost anywhere. Last season at Carthage, Brooks took 22% of his shots from the mid-range, which ranked in the 90th percentile for his position in D3 basketball. Brooks only took just over 13% of his shots at the rim, which placed him in the 20th percentile. That lack of shots isn’t because he can’t make them, though; Brooks shot 68.2% at the rim, which ranked him in the 79th percentile. Across all 5 shooting regions on CBB Analytics, Brooks ranks in the 50th percentile in all 5 and ranks in the Top 1/3rd in 4 of the 5 regions.
His season prior at Carthage, much of the same just with slightly less efficiency. Brooks ended up in the Top 50th percentile in 3 of the 5 regions and ranked as low as the 39th percentile across all 5 regions. You could even see this elite-level scoring when he was at Northern Michigan. During his true freshman season, Brooks shot 36.9% from behind the arc and 89.5% from the free throw line, ranking him in the 95th percentile.
Last season across all of D1 basketball, 34 players between the heights of 6’4” and 6’8” shot above 50% At The Rim, 45% on Mid Range/Long 2’s, and 35% from Behind The Arc with 100 Attempts from 2 and 100 from 3. That list includes 31 players at or above an All-Big South level, including two of the hottest names in CBB, Milan Momcilovic, and NBA Draftees like Bennett Stirtz and Cameron Carr. The Big South has had only 9 players match those levels, and 7 of those 9 played at an All-Big South level last season.
Transfer Up?:
The biggest question when a player transfers up from any level is, well, Will They Transfer Up? That concern has a ton of merit; the average D3 team would lose to most, if not all, Division 1 teams. When a player succeeds at a lower level and makes the next move, it is sometimes far from seamless. It has happened time and time again where an All-Conference D2/D3/NAIA or JUCO player jumps up to the D1 level and just never seems to find their footing. Of the 11 D3 to D1 transfers last season, 5 played in over 300 minutes throughout the season.
Despite this being a lottery ticket based on last season, I don’t see Brooks having much trouble transferring up. Last season, one of the best transfers was Toby Harris, who went to Iona. Harris also happens to be the Brooks top comparable player during the 24-25 season. Alongside that comparison, one hits closer to home for CSU, with Jesse Hafemeister having the 4th- and 5th-most comparable seasons in the Landmark Conference to Brooks’s in the CCIW.
Final Thoughts:
The comparison for this transfer is very easy. It is an almost 1-for-1, at least analytically, to what Charleston Southern had with Hafemeister last season. Both players are similarly sized, Division 3 Transfer Wing/Taller Guards, with similar stats. During Jesse Hafemeister’s 3 seasons at Catholic, Hafemeister had 80.9%, 79.3%, and 79.1% comparable shooting numbers to Brooks in Carthage’s 25-26 season. When you look at the full player profile, it becomes even clearer with comparisons of 86%, 85.2%, and 83%.
Last season, Jesse Hafemeister averaged 12.7 PPG and 5.3 RPG with 39% 3PT shooting, including 29 points against North Florida, 32 against USC Upstate, and 28 against UNC Asheville. Truly, I could see a very similar season for Brooks, if not better. Brooks comes from a league that produces multiple D1 transfers to teams like Illinois State, and the league was ranked 5th in the 23-24 Landmark Conference, which was ranked 16th. Ultimately, I expect Brooks to make a buzz for an All-Big South Mention, but unlike Hafemeister last season, I do think Brooks gets at least an Honorable Mention.