Vandals basketball is seeing several new recruits for both teams, with seven new recruits for the men’s team and six for women’s.
Men’s basketball
With two graduating and six entering the transfer portal, men’s basketball head coach Zac Claus is looking to rebuild by adding seven players for next season.
Back in November, Claus signed three players, the first being freshman guard Titus Yearout from Lapwai High School in Lapwai, Idaho. Yearout led the Lapwai Wildcats to an undefeated season and a win in the state championship game his senior year.
The next signing was freshman forward Nigel Burris from San Francisco who was enrolled at Golden State Prep last year.
Sophomore guard Dominique Ford from Las Vegas rounded out the November signings. Ford was enrolled at the College of Southern Nevada last year.
To start the spring signings, the Vandals got fifth year guard Divant’e Moffit from Seattle Pacific University, where he played for the last four years.
Shortly after signing Moffitt, Claus added three more players.
Redshirt sophomore forward Terren Frank from Los Angeles played one season at Texas Christian University and Vanderbilt.
Freshman guard Mikhail Abdul-Hamid is from St. Louis. Abdul-Hamid played at Christian Brothers College High School for three seasons.
To round out the spring signings, the Vandals got fifth year guard Trey Smith from Cypress, California, where Smith played four seasons at San Jose State University.
Women’s basketball
Women’s basketball head coach Jon Newlee had four graduate and two enter the transfer portal while he added six to the team. His first signing in November was freshman forward Sarah Brans from Dublin, California. Brans played for Monte Vista High School, as well as for Jason Kidd Select on the Amateur Athletic Union Circuit.
Freshman guard Rosa Smith was next. Smith is from Kirkland, Washington, where she played for Lake Washington High School. On top of her skill on the court, Smith carried a 4.3 weighted GPA.
To cap off November signings, Newlee added a familiar last name to the Vandal family. Freshman guard Jaiden Bea, cousin of current Vandals Beyonce and Skyler Bea, is from Washougal, Washington, where she played for Washougal High School.
After signing three freshmen in November, Newlee moved towards players that already had basketball experience past the high school level.
Junior guard Jenna Kilty started the May signings. Kilty is from Oakland, California, and played her previous two seasons at Big Sky rival, Portland State.
Kilty was not the only rival player signed onto the women’s team this spring. Redshirt sophomore forward Brooke Malone is from Perth, Australia. Malone spent last season at the University of Idaho’s biggest in-conference rival, Idaho State.
The final spring signing for coach Newlee is guard Asha Phillips from North Nowra, Australia. Phillips has played for the U18 NSW Country team and is currently playing for NBL1 East. There was no information about how many years of eligibility Phillips has. With the men’s basketball team going 9-22 and losing by three in the first round of the Big Sky Tournament, it will be exciting to see what these seven new players will bring to the table.
The women’s basketball team went 14-18 and lost by six in the semi-final game of the Big Sky Tournament. These six new players will help with the depth that the Vandals needed last season.
James Taurman-Aldrich can be reached at [email protected]