Panthers add five for 2021-22 season

May 16—The Kentucky Wesleyan College men's basketball team has added five new players for the 2021-22 season, Panthers head coach Drew Cooper announced Saturday, and expectations around the program remain high.

"I love the group we have coming back," Cooper said. "I know they will set the tone regarding what commitment and positive personality within a championship program should look like.

"Each year, I have been very grateful to our senior classes because they've done their job to advance our program so that we're better when they depart than we were when they arrived. We're working hard to weaponize next year's senior class to make sure that trend continues. Although we're not done yet, we've made a significant dent in that mission."

Antonio Thomas is a 6-foot-2, 185-pound junior transfer point guard from NCAA Division I Bradley University, where the Memphis, Tennessee, native appeared in 55 career games and started in eight. He helped the Braves capture the 2020 Missouri Valley Conference title.

"Tonio is extremely well-rounded as a player, student and young man," Cooper said of Thomas, who scored 100 points, grabbed 60 rebounds and dished 50 assists in his Bradley career. "He's coming to a place that his commitment to all facets of how he lives his life is so appreciated. He's a perfect fit here. He can run a team. He's great in the open floor. He just really knows how to play on both sides. He's a great decision-maker, passer, uses ball screens well ... he'll make everyone around him better."

Jordan Roland is a 6-1 combo guard transfer from Notre Dame College (Ohio), where he led the team with 18.2 points, 3.1 assists and 1.2 steals per game, and was named to the All-Mountain East Conference second team. The Flint, Michigan, native previously helped Beecher High School to three state championships and went on to become a first-team all-conference selection at Mott Community College and Defensive Player of the Year in the Michigan Community College Athletic Association in 2018.

"Jordan can really score the ball in a variety of ways," Cooper said. "He's explosive and assertive offensively and has proven during his time at Notre Dame that he's an impact player at this level. He's also tremendous defensively."

JoMel Boyd is a 6-foot-6 forward/center transfer from Montana State University Northern, where he posted 12.7 points and 6.1 rebounds per game while shooting 56% from the field. Before that, Boyd averaged better than 20 points per outing for Glen Oaks Community College and earned all-region and first-team all-conference honors.

"JoMel does great work in the classroom and on the floor is very effective in the interior," Cooper said. "He's an athletic, active player. He has had a big-time scoring and rebounding impact at good levels of college basketball and is primed to do well here. We're excited to add him into our interior fold."

While Roland and Boyd each come in with three years of college experience under their belts, both are expected to receive extended eligibility and remain Panthers through the 2022-23 season.

Additionally, Apollo High School's Cameron Frantz and Louisville Brown's Josiah Bibb will join the Panthers in preferred walk-on roles for the 2021-22 season.