Youngstown, Ohio – The Youngstown State men's basketball program has signed seven recruits to grants-in-aid and another to a National Letter of Intent for the 2023-24 season, YSU Head Coach Jerrod Calhoun announced on Monday.
The Penguins added transfers Jaylen Bates, DJ Burns, EJ Farmer, Bryson Langdon, Ziggy Reid, Brett Thompson, and Imanuel Zorgvol, and true freshmen Christian Kirkland and Dante DePante.
"We are extremely excited to welcome these nine players to our Penguins family," Calhoun said. "My staff and I have worked tireless throughout the spring to identify players that fit our culture, style of play, and winning tradition. We feel this group, along with our returnees and fall signees, could be our deepest and most athletic team in my tenure.
"Our fans have created the best atmosphere inside the Horizon League and I can't wait for them to cheer on this group."
Bates, a 6-foot-7 senior wing from Atlanta, Ga., spent last season at Florida A&M and averaged 9.0 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. He scored in double figures 12 times and recorded four double-doubles.
Burns, a 6-foot-7 senior forward from New Orleans, La., spent the previous two seasons and started 66 games at Murray State. He started all 32 games last season and averaged 8.8 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. He ranked eighth in the Missouri Valley Conference in rebounds per game. Burns shot .540 from the field (105-of-185) and a career-high from the free throw line at .770 (67-of-87).
He led the team with 212 total rebounds and had 89 offensive rebounds to rank 65th in the NCAA and had four double-doubles to rank fourth in the MVC.
Farmer, a 6-foot-5 junior guard from Cleveland, Ohio, spent the last two seasons at Toledo and will have two years of eligibility with the Penguins. Last season, Farmer helped the Rockets to a 27-8 overall record and an appearance in the National Invitation Tournament.
He appeared in all 35 games and made five starts for the Rockets. Farmer scored in double figures eight times last season and averaged 6.0 points and 1.9 rebounds per game. He also shot 52.8 percent from the field.
Langdon, a 5-foot-9 senior guard, spent three seasons at Northern Kentucky (2019-22) where he played in 88 games with 71 starts. He ended his career at NKU ranked 14th all-time with 326 career assists. In 2021-22, he averaged 6.3 points and 3.9 assists per game. His 2.1 assist-to-turnover ratio ranked fourth in the Horizon League and he reached double figures nine times
Reid is a 6-foot-6 fifth-year senior forward from Baltimore, Md. He spent the last four seasons at Merrimack and has one year of eligibility remaining with Youngstown State. Last season, Reid averaged 14.2 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.
Reid led Merrimack to the Northeast Conference Tournament Championship last season and was named the Tournament Most Valuable Player after averaging 23.7 points and 4.7 rebounds per game and shooting 65.8 percent from the field. On the year, Reid made 55 3-pointers.
Thompson, a 6-foot-1 senior guard from Oakland, Calif., spent last season at Tennessee Tech and averaged 12.3 points and 3.1 assists per game. He also shot 43.7 percent from the floor, 41.7 percent from 3-point range, and 76.7 percent from the free-throw line.
Zorgvol, a 7-foot sophomore forward from Paramaribo, Suriname, spent the last two years at Northern Kentucky and will have three years of eligibility with the Penguins. After redshirting in 2021-22, Zorgvol appeared in 32 games for the Norse last season. He averaged 2.6 points and 2.9 rebounds per game and shot 59.6 percent from the floor.
Kirkland is a 6-foot-9 freshman forward from Philadelphia, Pa., and went to the Friends Select School. A two-time first-team all-conference selection, Kirkland scored 1,078 career points. Last season, he averaged 16 points, 13 rebounds and two blocks per game.
DePante is a 6-foot-4 guard from Pittsburgh, Pa., and played at Pittsburgh Central Catholic. DePante scored more than 1,000 points in his high school career and was named the WPIAL 6A Player of the Year by Cover Three Athletics.
They join Anthony Breland (Newton, N.C.) Gabe Dynes (Independence, Ky.) and David Wilkerson (East Lansing, Mich.) in the 2023-24 recruiting class.
