Drake men's basketball signs 6-foot-8 forward Joey Matteoni

Ben McCollum officially added his first high school signee to the Drake men’s basketball roster Monday morning.

Joey Matteoni – a 6-foot-8, 215-pound senior forward from Overland Park, Kan. - originally committed to and signed with McCollum’s Northwest Missouri State squad. But the soon-to-be high school graduate opted to follow McCollum to Des Moines.

Matteoni helped Blue Valley Northwest High School to a state championship in 2023 and earned first-team all-state honors.

He averaged 19.1 points, 8.91 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.6 steals per game in his senior season, according to KCHSHoops.com.

Matteoni is the sixth player – and first high schooler – to commit to McCollum since he took over as the Bulldogs head coach.

He joins Northwest Missouri State transfers Bennett Stirtz, Isaiah Jackson and Daniel Abreu, Indiana State transfer Eli Shetlar and Wyoming transfer Cameron Manyawu.

Alyssa Hertel is the college sports recruiting reporter for the Des Moines Register. Contact Alyssa at ahertel@dmreg.com or on Twitter @AlyssaHertel.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Drake men's basketball signs 6-foot-8 forward Joey Matteoni