Middle Tennessee men’s basketball has added New York prep standout Jayce Johnson to the roster for the 2018-19 season as announced by Head Coach Nick McDevitt on Tuesday.
Johnson, a Buffalo, N.Y., native, averaged 12.6 points, 6.1 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game as a senior at Canisius High School on his way to a third-team All-Western New York selection. During his sophomore campaign, he helped his team to a NYSCHSAA Class A Championship.
Standing at 6-foot-5, Johnson adds some size on the wing but also brings great off-ball awareness and shooting skills as well.
“We’re excited about adding Jayce Johnson to our program for years to come,” said Head Coach Nick McDevitt. “He’s a guard that will provide a lot of size and strength in the backcourt for our team. He’s a high character young man, a strong student, and a well-rounded student-athlete. We like having guys like him in our program because he makes those around him better. He was a very gifted high school quarterback, so he brings intangibles like leadership skills and toughness. We’re going to ask him to provide those early in his career here.”
Johnson originally signed to play football at Wagner College back in February before re-opening his recruitment and deciding to pursue basketball. As a prep football standout, Johnson led Canisius to a gridiron state title in the fall of 2016 and followed that up with a senior campaign in which he passed for 1,764 yards and 18 touchdowns and ran for 713 yards and 15 touchdowns.
“I chose basketball over football because of my love for the sport. I believe I have more room for growth in basketball and Coach McDevitt’s system matches up great with my playing style which will allow me to experience that growth. I ultimately chose Middle Tennessee because of their staff and the love they’ve shown me throughout this recruiting process.”
Johnson joins fellow prep standout Anthony Crump of Plymouth (MI) High School as well as transfers Darnell Butler, DeAndre Dishman, C.J. Jones and Reggie Scurry in McDevitt’s first signing class at Middle Tennessee.
