Jalen Poyser to transfer to St. Bonaventure

Courtesy of GoBonnies.com

ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. – Jalen Poyser, a 6-foot-4 guard who played at UNLV the past two seasons, has signed an athletics grant-in-aid and will transfer to St. Bonaventure University. Per NCAA rules, he will sit out next season and then have two years of eligibility starting in 2018-19.

Poyser, who is from Toronto, was UNLV’s third-leading scorer last season at 10.4 points per game. He also was second on the team in assists at 2.6 per game, was third in steals (0.7) and three-pointers per game (1.2) and led the Running Rebels in free throw percentage (.802). Poyser started 21 of his 31 games and averaged 27 minutes per game. He scored in double figures 18 times with a career high 22 points against Western Kentucky.

As a freshman, Poyser played in all of UNLV’s 33 games, making one start. He averaged 5.4 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game in an average of 16.2 minutes played per contest.

As a high school senior at Orangeville Prep, Poyser was listed as the No. 1 player in Canada in the class of 2015 by Rivals.com. A four-star recruit, he was also ranked 83^rdoverall in the 2015 recruiting class. Poyser played AAU basketball for CIA Bounce. He also competed in the adidas Nations event in 2015 and averaged 16.8 points per game there.

Poyser’s addition will help the Bonnies replace some of the production of guards Jaylen Adams, Matt Mobley and Idris Taqqee, who are all seniors.

“We are really excited that Jalen has chosen St. Bonaventure,” said Bonnies head coach Mark Schmidt. “We will lose three talented guards after this season, so we’ll have a ton of scoring, playmaking and leadership to replace. Jalen will really help us in all facets. He’s a combo guard who can score, can play the point some times, and can lead our team. He should be a great fit in what we want to do.”

For Poyser, who took an unofficial visit to St. Bonaventure when he was a high school senior, the chance to play close to his hometown was the top factor in his decision, but not the only one.

“It’s close to home for me and I’ve seen the program for many years, what a great reputation it has for developing players and how good coach Schmidt is,” Poyser said. “It’s the best spot for me. I’ll spend the offseason and next year working on my game, addressing my weaknesses and getting stronger. Plus, I’ll go head-to-head with guys like Adams and Mobley every day, and the year after that I hope to fill their shoes.”