Courtesy of GoGriffs.com
Canisius head coach Jim Christian announced today that Andreo Ash, Chris Kumu and Brendan Oliver have all committed to join the Golden Griffin men’s basketball program for the 2025-26 season.
These three student-athletes will all be listed as freshmen on the team’s 2025-26 roster, and all three will have four years of collegiate eligibility. This newest group joins with fellow incoming freshman Javante Edwards, who announced his commitment to the program on Nov. 27, 2024.
The addition of these players follows the announcement made last week that the Griffs have added two players from the NCAA Transfer Portal. To read about Marcus Niblack and Myles Wilmoth joining the program, CLICK HERE.
Ash comes to Canisius after spending the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons at the Canterbury School in New Milford, Conn. A 6-foot-8, 225-pound forward, Ash was named First-Team All-Western New England after his senior season, where he averaged 22.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game while leading the Saints to a 24-6 overall record. Named the Canterbury School boys’ basketball team co-MVP after the 2024-25 campaign, Ash was rated as the No. 12 recruit in the Class of 2025 in the state of Connecticut, according to the New England Recruiting Report.
Ash started his scholastic playing career at Liverpool High School in Liverpool, N.Y. There, he scored more than 1,000-career points, and he also eclipsed the 1,000-career point milestone at Canterbury. Following the 2022-23 season, he was named the All-Central New York Player of the Year.
“Andreo is a versatile scorer who understands the importance of playing within himself, and he has a knack for making others around him better,” Christian said. “He has a nose for the basketball and he has proven that he is willing to go get rebounds at both ends of the floor. We are excited to add a player of his skill level to our program.”
Kumu, a 6-foot-3, 190-pound guard from Montreal, joins the Blue and Gold’s roster after playing at Fort Erie Academy in Fort Erie, Ontario. Kumo, who averaged better than 27.0 points per game in 2024-25, recently played a key role in helping Fort Erie Academy become the first Canadian team to reach the championship game of The Grind Session tournament, highlighted by his 19-point effort in the team’s 64-61 win over Utah Prep in the event’s semifinal round. Selected to represent Fort Erie Academy at The CWENCH All-Canadian Games earlier this month, Kumu was the event’s slam dunk contest champion. The CWENCH All-Canadian Games rosters consist of the top-24 male Canadian high school basketball players.
“Chris is a vocal leader who brings so many great attributes to our program, both on and off the court,” Christian said. “He can put the ball on the floor and score, he can pull up and knock down jumpers and he plays with a great level of intensity on defense as well. He has played at the highest levels of Canadian prep school basketball, and we believe that experience will greatly benefit our program.”
Oliver committed to the Griffs after four seasons at Blair Academy in Blairstown, N.J. There, the 6-foot-6, 195-pound guard averaged 12.1 points per game for Buccaneers in 2024-25, who went 24-3 last year en route to winning both the Mid-Atlantic Prep League (MAPL) and New Jersey Prep Open championships. Blair Academy finished the 2024-25 season ranked No. 9 in the National Prep Basketball final poll.
“Brendan is coming here after playing at one of the top prep schools in the country, and we are extremely excited for him to join our program. He is athletic, and he is not afraid to do the little things at both ends of the floor. He was often assigned to guard the opposing team’s top offensive player, and when you see the schedule Blair Academy played, and the success that team had, you know right away that he takes pride in playing defense.”
Edwards ended his senior season at Carmen Northwest High School in Milwaukee, Wisc., by being named the Milwaukee City-Gold Division Player of the Year after he averaged a league-best 30.6 points per game. A First-Team Division 3 Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association All-State honoree and a Third-Team All-Area choice by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Edwards also grabbed 6.9 rebounds to go with 3.5 assists in his senior campaign. He ended his career at Carmen Northwest with 1,605 career points to his credit, highlighted by a career-high 54-point performance in a game against Menomonee Falls on Nov. 30, 2024.
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