Valley Recruits

[Da Coach]

New Evansville head coach David Ragland continues to work to fill his depleted roster.
He got a commitment today from one-time Bradley recruit Kenny Strawbridge, a transfer portal player who played the last 2 seasons at Alabama State, of the SWAC. He averaged 10.5 ppg, 4.7 rpg, and 28% 3pt% this past season at ASU.
Strawbridge is originally a 2018 grad from Rockford Lutheran HS, and Bradley showed recruiting interest as far back as September, 2016, prior to his junior year in high school.-
https://www.bradleyfans.com/forum/sp...idge#post26891

https://verbalcommits.com/players/kenny-strawbridge

He committed to UMKC out of high school, but redshirted his only season there (2018-19). He then spent the next season (2019-20) at Western Nebraska Community College, where he averaged 15 ppg and 5.5 rpg his redshirt-freshman season-
https://wnccathletics.com/sports/mbk...dge_kalen_s1ug

He then enrolled at Alabama State in 2020, and played the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons there, where he has been a starter and posted good numbers-
https://www.espn.com/mens-college-ba...ny-strawbridge

He entered the transfer portal on March 8, 2022, and today committed to Evansville. He should have 2 seasons of eligibility left, including his extra Covid year.-
https://twitter.com/portal_updates/s...03294647439361

Updated list of 2022 & 2023 MVC commitments-
Belmont- Ja'Kobi Gillespie, Kyler Vanderjagt, Keith Robbins, Cade Tyson, Keishawn Davidson, Jake Dykstra, Drew Friberg
Bradley- James "Pop" Weathers, Christian Davis, Cody "Duke" Deen, Goanar Biliew
Drake- Will Lovings-Watts, Sardaar Calhoun, Andrew Alia (walk-on), Eric Northweather
Evansville- Logan McIntire, Zaveion Chism-Okoh, Chris Moncrief, Matthew Ragsdale (decommitted), Sekou Sada Kalle, Yacine Toumi, Gabe Spinelli, Kenny Strawbridge, Marvin Coleman, Cameron Gehlhausen (walk-on)
Illinois State- Takai Simpkins (decommitted), Tajuan Simpkins (decommitted), Colton Sandage, Malachi Poindexter, Darius Burford, Luke Kasubke, Seneca Knight, Joe Petrakis
Indiana State- Robbie Avila, Jayson Kent, Robert Martin, Courvoisier McCauley, Cade McKnight, Trenton Gibson
Missouri State- Jonathan Dunn, Jalen Hampton (decommitted), N.J. Benson, Bryan Trimble, Jr., Dalen Ridgnal, Chance Moore, Damien Mayo, Jr., Tommy Pinegar (walk-on), Jonathan Mogbo, Alston Mason, Matthew Lee, Kendle Moore, James Graham, Kanon Gipson (walk-on)
Murray State- Braxton Stacker, Justin Morgan, Jaxon Edwards, Quincy Anderson, Kenny White, Jr., Jamari Smith, Rob Perry, JaCobi Wood, Patrick Chew, Brian Moore, Sam Murray, Marlon Lestin
SIU- Cade Hornecker, Xavier Davis, Jawaun Newton, A.J. Ferguson, Clarence Rupert, Terrance Jacobs, Jr.
UIC- Jalen Jackson, Cameron Fens, Steven Clay, Tyler Stevenson (decommitted), Trevante Anderson, Toby Okani, Christian Jones, Shaun Williams, Bessanty-Aime Saragba
UNI- Trey Campbell, Ege Peksari, Hunter Jacobson
Valparaiso- Maximus Nelson, Nick Edwards, Quinton Greene, Jerome Palm, Ibra Bayu

2023-
Belmont- Win Miller
Illinois State- Johnny Kinziger
Murray State- John McCrear
UNI- R.J. Taylor

[Da Coach]

I have heard from a pretty reliable source connected to Indiana preps that Will Lovings-Watts is not enrolling at Drake for academic reasons. He may go the prep school route.

Looks like my source was 100% accurate- Drake commit (and one-time BU recruit) Will Lovings-Watts will not be enrolling at Drake for academic reasons, and will be pursuing a prep school year-

https://twitter.com/drakedawgs/status/1532121270069886976

[Da Coach]

Evansville and new head coach David Ragland land 2 commitments today-
6'3" point guard Gabe Spinelli from the Darrow School, a prep school in New York. He is originally from Massachusetts--

https://verbalcommits.com/players/gabe-spinelli

Yacine Toumi, a 6'10" sophomore forward from Indian Hills CC in Ottumwa, Iowa. he is originally from France.

https://verbalcommits.com/players/yacine-toumi

https://indianhillsathletics.com/spo...mi_yacine_822d
Stats- https://indianhillsathletics.com/spo...acinetoumiqqz6

[Da Coach]

UIC got a commitment last night from Christian Jones, a 6'4" senior (class of 2022) guard from East St. Louis HS. He is rated a 3-star recruit and 2nd team All-State, and was previously committed to Missouri.

https://verbalcommits.com/players/christian-jones-il

https://twitter.com/urcjay/status/1527846138312904705

https://www.stltoday.com/sports/high...df7fd94fa.html

UIC gets another transfer from the portal- Shaun Williams, a 6'3" redshirt junior from Cal State-Bakersfield. He played his freshman season in 2018-19 at Kansas State and averaged 1.4 ppg. He only played 5 games his sophomore season at KSU, then left the team and transferred to CSUB. One of the games he played before transferring was against Bradley in the 2018 Rocket Mortgage Fort Myers Tip-Off tournament (11/27/19). He played 17 minutes in that game and scored 10 points. A couple weeks later, he transferred, then sat out the rest of 2019-20 season and the first part of 2019-20. In the 22 games he played after becoming eligible in 2020-2021, he averaged 9.3 ppg 2.3 rpg, and 3.1 apg. This past season (2021-22) at CSUB, he played in only 10 games, and averaged 6.0 ppg, 2.3 rpg, and 1.9 apg.

https://verbalcommits.com/players/shaun-williams

Bio- https://gorunners.com/sports/mens-ba...-williams/5074

[Da Coach]

Murray State gets another transfer from the portal, their 3rd this week-
Marlon Lestin, a 6'9" freshman forward from East Carolina. He is originally from Montreal, Quebec.
He appeared in only 10 games for East Carolina, and played very limited minutes. His only points all year were 2 free throws and he had 7 rebounds for an average of 0.2 ppg and 0.7 rpg.

https://www.verbalcommits.com/players/marlon-lestin

Bio- https://ecupirates.com/sports/mens-b...n-lestin/11687
Stats- https://www.espn.com/mens-college-ba.../marlon-lestin

Updated list of 2022 & 2023 MVC commitments-
Belmont- Ja'Kobi Gillespie, Kyler Vanderjagt, Keith Robbins, Cade Tyson, Keishawn Davidson, Jake Dykstra, Drew Friberg
Bradley- James "Pop" Weathers, Christian Davis, Cody "Duke" Deen, Goanar Biliew
Drake- Will Lovings-Watts, Sardaar Calhoun, Andrew Alia (walk-on), Eric Northweather
Evansville- Logan McIntire, Zaveion Chism-Okoh, Chris Moncrief, Matthew Ragsdale (decommitted), Sekou Sada Kalle, Yacine Toumi, Gabe Spinelli, Kenny Strawbridge, Matus Malovec
Illinois State- Takai Simpkins (decommitted), Tajuan Simpkins (decommitted), Colton Sandage, Malachi Poindexter, Darius Burford, Luke Kasubke, Seneca Knight, Joe Petrakis
Indiana State- Robbie Avila, Jayson Kent, Robert Martin, Courvoisier McCauley, Cade McKnight, Trenton Gibson
Missouri State- Jonathan Dunn, Jalen Hampton (decommitted), N.J. Benson, Bryan Trimble, Jr., Dalen Ridgnal, Chance Moore, Damien Mayo, Jr., Tommy Pinegar (walk-on), Jonathan Mogbo, Alston Mason, Matthew Lee, Kendle Moore, James Graham, Kanon Gipson (walk-on)
Murray State- Braxton Stacker, Justin Morgan, Jaxon Edwards, Quincy Anderson, Kenny White, Jr., Jamari Smith, Rob Perry, JaCobi Wood, Patrick Chew, Brian Moore, Sam Murray, Marlon Lestin
SIU- Cade Hornecker, Xavier Davis, Jawaun Newton, A.J. Ferguson, Clarence Rupert
UIC- Jalen Jackson, Cameron Fens, Steven Clay, Tyler Stevenson, Trevante Anderson, Toby Okani, Christian Jones, Shaun Williams
UNI- Trey Campbell
Valparaiso- Maximus Nelson, Nick Edwards, Quinton Greene, Jerome Palm

2023-
Belmont- Win Miller
UNI- R.J. Taylor

[DUBulldog]

Thanks. I knew Lovings-Watt had signed, but just a bit puzzled why he wasn't listed on the Drake website 2022-23 roster. Once a recruit is signed to an NLI, a school is allowed to comment on him or list him on their upcoming roster. And most schools will list their signed recruits on their future roster. Maybe Drake doesn't do it that way. Or maybe my source was right.

Drake's media team isn't the best, to put it mildly. I'm actually surprised they even have 2022-23 roster up at all. Probably will take a while for them to update it.

[Da Coach]

I have heard from a pretty reliable source connected to Indiana preps that Will Lovings-Watts is not enrolling at Drake for academic reasons. He may go the prep school route.

Drake publicized this back in November. https://godrakebulldogs.com/news/202...asketball.aspx

As far as the roster, the only newcomer listed so far on next season's roster is Sardaar Calhoun, and he was enrolled at Drake for 2nd semester this season. So, none of the incoming newcomers are listed yet. They probably will be as soon as they're officially in classes.

Thanks. I knew Lovings-Watt had signed, but just a bit puzzled why he wasn't listed on the Drake website 2022-23 roster. Once a recruit is signed to an NLI, a school is allowed to comment on him or list him on their upcoming roster. And most schools will list their signed recruits on their future roster. Maybe Drake doesn't do it that way. Or maybe my source was right.

[DUBulldog]

I've tried to find a report of Will Lovings-Watts signing his National Letter of Intent. Usually schools publicize those things, and fans comment on them. But neither Drake nor any other source has reported that. If he hasn't signed yet, then that would explain why Drake doesn't show him on their 2022-23 roster, as they are prohibited from making any comment about him.
The NLI signing period runs from April 13 through May 18, so he still has another week.

Drake publicized this back in November. https://godrakebulldogs.com/news/202...asketball.aspx

As far as the roster, the only newcomer listed so far on next season's roster is Sardaar Calhoun, and he was enrolled at Drake for 2nd semester this season. So, none of the incoming newcomers are listed yet. They probably will be as soon as they're officially in classes.

[Da Coach]

UIC got a commitment last night from Christian Jones, a 6'4" senior (class of 2022) guard from East St. Louis HS. He is rated a 3-star recruit and 2nd team All-State, and was previously committed to Missouri.

https://verbalcommits.com/players/christian-jones-il

https://twitter.com/urcjay/status/1527846138312904705

https://www.stltoday.com/sports/high-school/all-metro/boys-basketball/christian-jones-senior-east-st-louis/article_385f64ea-b2aa-11ec-84f1-5f7df7fd94fa.html

[Da Coach]

Murray State gets a commitment from 6'8" forward Sam Murray of Harrison Central High School in Gulfport, Mississippi.

https://verbalcommits.com/players/sam-murray

[Da Coach]

Southern Illinois gets one more transfer portal commitment-
Clarence Rupert, a 6'8" freshman forward from St. Peter's, commits to SIU. He is originally from Norfolk, Virginia. He appeared in 30 games this past season, including 7 starts. He averaged 4.4 ppg, and 2.6 rpg

https://verbalcommits.com/players/clarence-rupert

Bio- https://saintpeterspeacocks.com/spor...ce-rupert/4891
Stats- https://www.espn.com/mens-college-ba...larence-rupert

[Da Coach]

A couple more commitments today-
Drake got a commitment from Eric Northweather, a 6'10" forward who is transferring from Division II Truman State.

https://verbalcommits.com/players/eric-northweather

https://trumanbulldogs.com/sports/me...thweather/5746

He averaged 0.5 ppg as a freshman and 9.5 ppg and 4.1 rpg this past season as a sophomore at Truman State.
He is the older brother of Luke Northweather, a high school senior and 2022 recruit that Bradley recruited.
https://www.bradleyfans.com/forum/sp...757#post502757


And SIU just got a commitment from A.J. Ferguson, a 6'6" freshman wing from Division II East Central University in Oklahoma.
https://ecutigers.com/sports/mens-ba...guson-jr-/3148
https://twitter.com/writingump/statu...99724989075458

https://verbalcommits.com/players/a-j-ferguson-jr

He is originally from Houston, Texas. Ferguson averaged 11 ppg and shot 36% from three at ECU this year.

[Da Coach]

Murray State just landed one of the top junior college point guards in the country. Brian Moore was a talented 2nd year point guard at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M that Bradley began recruiting last fall-
https://www.bradleyfans.com/forum/sp...449#post499449

He averaged 18.4 ppg as a freshman and 21.3 ppg this past season as a sophomore and shot 26% from three.
https://stats.njcaa.org/sports/mbkb/...brianmoore8qnb
Bio- https://neoathletics.com/sports/mens...moore-jr-/5230

He had a number of good mid-major offers, and even a couple high-major offers.

https://verbalcommits.com/players/brian-moore

[yoda]

Petrakis was a walk on for his two seasons at Kansas State but was awarded a scholarship for 2nd semester of his 2nd season there when another player left.
He transferred to Western Carolina for the scholarship and is transferring now as a grad transfer so won't need another waiver.

[Da Coach]

New Illinois State head coach Ryan Pedon gets a transfer portal commitment from Joe Petrakis, a 6'10" forward who is transferring from Western Carolina. He is originally from Wichita, Kansas, and graduated high school in 2018 and played the 2018-19 season at Dodge City Community College. He then transferred to Kansas State for 2 years. He redshirted his first season there (2019-20), then played his second season (2020-21). He played very little (11 games, 2.8 minutes/game, and 1.4 ppg), then transferred to Western Carolina for 2021-22. He averaged 8.0 ppg and 3.2 rpg at WCU.
https://pantagraph.com/sports/colleg...8720b8e8a.html
Stats- https://www.espn.com/mens-college-ba...1/joe-petrakis
Bio- https://catamountsports.com/sports/m...-petrakis/9807

He would have 2 seasons of eligibility left at ISU. This is ISU's 6th transfer from the transfer portal.

Updated list of 2022 MVC commitments-
Belmont- Ja'Kobi Gillespie, Kyler Vanderjagt, Keith Robbins, Cade Tyson, Keishawn Davidson, Jake Dykstra, Drew Friberg
Bradley- James "Pop" Weathers, Christian Davis, Cody "Duke" Deen, Goanar Biliew
Drake- Will Lovings-Watts, Sardaar Calhoun, Andrew Alia (walk-on), Eric Northweather
Evansville- Logan McIntire, Zaveion Chism-Okoh, Chris Moncrief, Matthew Ragsdale, Sekou Sada Kalle
Illinois State- Takai Simpkins (decommitted), Tajuan Simpkins (decommitted), Colton Sandage, Malachi Poindexter, Darius Burford, Luke Kasubke, Seneca Knight, Joe Petrakis
Indiana State- Robbie Avila, Jayson Kent, Robert Martin, Courvoisier McCauley, Cade McKnight, Trenton Gibson
Missouri State- Jonathan Dunn, Jalen Hampton (decommitted), N.J. Benson, Bryan Trimble, Jr., Dalen Ridgnal, Chance Moore, Damien Mayo, Jr., Tommy Pinegar (walk-on), Jonathan Mogbo, Alston Mason, Matthew Lee, Kendle Moore, James Graham, Kanon Gipson (walk-on)
Murray State- Braxton Stacker, Justin Morgan, Jaxon Edwards, Quincy Anderson, Kenny White, Jr., Jamari Smith, Rob Perry, JaCobi Wood, Patrick Chew, Brian Moore, Sam Murray, Marlon Lestin
SIU- Cade Hornecker, Xavier Davis, Jawaun Newton, A.J. Ferguson, Clarence Rupert
UIC- Jalen Jackson, Cameron Fens, Steven Clay, Tyler Stevenson, Trevante Anderson, Christian Jones
UNI- Trey Campbell
Valparaiso- Maximus Nelson, Nick Edwards, Quinton Greene, Jerome Palm

2023-
Belmont- Win Miller
UNI- R.J. Taylor