AU men’s basketball bolsters roster with five additions to ’24-25 class

Justin Gray | Sports editor 

After a rebuilding season for Coach Dip Metress and Co., the AU men are putting together a solid roster going into the 2024-25 basketball season. 

The Jaguars have signed five players so far and are looking to add a few more pieces before finalizing the class. 

AU’s first signing of the class was Elias Palsson from Njardvik, Iceland.  The 6-foot-6 forward played this season in the Icelandic Subway League, where he averaged 8 points, 2.7 rebounds and one assist per game.

The second signing of the class was TJ Baker out of Tallahassee, Fla. He is a point guard, who played at Florida State University High School and has the chance to make an immediate impact for AU in his freshman season. He won a 3-A state championship at FSU High School in 2022.

For their third signing, the Jaguars dipped back into the DMV (D.C., Maryland and Virginia) well, that has worked for them in years past, to pick up Chaevon Torrance out of Franklin High School in Virginia. Torrance is a 6-5 forward, who will bring nice size for the Jaguars and be a great depth piece. 

The Jaguars added some more size with the addition of Callum Smart, a 6-8 center from the United Kingdom. He played for the Bristol Flyers of the SGS Basketball Academy in the British Basketball League, where he averaged 9.5 points and 7.5 rebounds. 

Last, but certainly not least, as he might have the biggest impact on day one, is graduate transfer Evan Joyner from Greensboro, N.C. The 6 -8 forward is transferring in from Division I North Carolina A&T, where he started 14 of 32 games in 2023-24, averaging 3.7 points and 4.5 rebounds. He played his high school ball at Piedmont Classical.

Metress said he will continue to look for more talent to add to this team before the season gets going.

“We have signed five players and probably will be adding one or two more players before school starts,” said the Jaguar coach, who is going into his 21st season at Augusta University. “In today’s era of recruiting, it seems like the train never stops.”

These five will complement key returnees Ja’Queze Kirby, Demitri Gardner, John St. Germain III, Max Amadasun and Zyere Edwards. Gardner was all-conference last season and AU’s leading scorer. Timmy Sellers and David Viti finished their careers last season. Viti was a starter, and Sellers spelled Amadasun at center.

Augusta finished in fifth place in the Peach Belt Conference (with a 10-8 record) and went 17-12 overall in 2023-24.

Contact Justin Gray at jusgray@augusta.edu