With training camp and preseason rapidly approaching, NBA franchises across the league are finalizing their rosters to build chemistry before opening night. But the Miami Heat just showed they’re not out of surprise moves. Pat Riley’s team has officially signed 6′8″ forward Ian Schieffelin. After getting Giannis Antetokounmpo and Klay Thompson this offseason, the Heat’s last-minute signing is another interesting move.

While several teams are making minor tweaks, Miami just took a calculated gamble on an intriguing multi-sport talent. 23-year-old Schieffelin is a former Clemson basketball standout who took a famous detour onto the gridiron as a college football tight end.

He made another switch, returning to basketball after limited college football instead of pursuing an NFL opportunity to go to the NBA. Now he’s signed to an Exhibit 10 training camp contract at Miami.

The Heat announced the transaction in an official statement on NBA.com, confirming that terms of the deal were not disclosed per club policy. However, league reports indicate the contract grants Schieffelin an opportunity to compete for a roster spot under head coach Erik Spoelstra as Miami caps off a wild, transformative offseason.

The addition comes on the heels of a blockbuster summer for Miami’s front office. The Heat revamped their core around a trade for 2x MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo while bolstering their perimeter depth with veteran stars Klay Thompson and Tim Hardaway Jr.

Now, as the franchise shifts focus toward filling out its depth chart, Schieffelin enters the fold as a high-upside developmental reclamation project who already turned heads in Heat uniform during summer competition.

Schieffelin earned his camp invite after a strong five-game summer run across the California Classic in San Francisco and the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. The young forward averaged 8.4 points and 3.6 rebounds while displaying high efficiency, shooting 46.7% from the field, 42.9 percent from three-point range, and going a perfect 6-for-6 from the free-throw line.

His standout performance came during a 95–85 victory against Golden State Warriors on July 6, where he posted 11 points, eight rebounds, two blocks, and a steal off the bench. He followed that up in a July 10 game by registering a game-high +22 plus/minus in a dominant 119–86 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.

“It’s a huge blessing. I mean, not many people can really say that they’ve done kind of what I’ve done over the past year,” Schieffelin said after his Summer League stint. “It’s been just a blessing getting back into basketball and just the Heat organization taking a chance on me… This whole journey has been amazing.”

It’s undoubtedly amazing that Miami is giving Schieffelin a chance to return to basketball. And it may have to do with a personal connection to Erik Spoelstra.

Ian Schieffelin’s unique path to Miami Heat’s training camp

Ian Schieffelin’s journey to an NBA contract is one of the most unconventional stories of the 2026 offseason. Before putting on football pads, Schieffelin spent four stellar years with the Clemson basketball program from 2021 to 2025, appearing in 134 games (99 starts).

During his junior season in 2023–24, he won ACC Most Improved Player honors after shooting 46.9% from long range and leading the Tigers to their first NCAA Elite Eight appearance since 1980.

He elevated his game further as a senior in 2024–25, averaging 12.4 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 2.7 assists while earning All-ACC Second Team honors.

During that season, Schieffelin put up 12 double-doubles, including a historic performance against No. 4 Kentucky where he scored 10 points and grabbed a career-high 20 rebounds—becoming the only Division I men’s player in 25 years to post a 10-point, 20-rebound, 4-assist line in a win against an AP Top 5 opponent.

He cemented his legacy as the highest-assisting big man in Clemson history with 262 career assists. So imagine the surprise when he opted not to play basketball.

After exhausting his college basketball eligibility, Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney, coincidentally a longtime friend of Erik Spoelstra, convinced the 240-pound forward to join the Tigers’ football team as a graduate senior tight end in 2025.

Schieffelin appeared in eight games on the gridiron, logging 20 offensive snaps and catching two passes. Notably, he became the first student-athlete in Clemson history to earn a victory in Chapel Hill against North Carolina in both basketball and football.

Standing 6’8 with a physical tight-end frame, Schieffelin brings relentless motor, glass-cleaning instincts, and floor-spacing potential that fit Miami’s culture.

NBA teams can bring up to 21 players to training camp before trimming to 15 standard contracts and 3 two-way spots for the regular season. Schieffelin will battle competing camp signees like Ezra Ausar and established two-way player Keshad Johnson for a spot on the roster or an assignment with the G League Sioux Falls Skyforce.

Under Spoelstra’s player development program, the former college football star will have a genuine shot to prove his multi-sport toughness belongs on an NBA court.