HAYS — Fort Hays State University men’s basketball coach Mark Johnson announced six recruits that will be joining the men’s basketball team for the 2011-12 season.
The recruiting class includes five transfers and one freshman. Junior college transfers include Omar McDade and Kendrick Morse from Sheridan (Wyo.) College, Tyrone Phillips from Chemeketa (Ore.) Community College, and Markus Yarbrough from Kilgore (Texas) College. KC Rodenburg is a senior transfer from the University of South Dakota. The lone freshman is Garrett Dreiling, out of Victoria High School.
McDade, a native of Logan, Utah, was the second-leading scorer for Sheridan College in 2010-11 as a sophomore. He averaged 14.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 1.6 steals per game, earning All-Region 9 and All-Region 9 Tournament Team honors. McDade led the team in three-point field goals with 61, shooting 35.5 percent from behind the arc. He also ranked in the top 10 in the region in free-throw percentage (82.7 percent). As a freshman, he averaged 6.5 points, 3.0 assists and 2.5 rebounds per game while shooting 40 percent on 3s.
Morse is a native of Richton, Ill., where he was a starting point guard at Sheridan College for two consecutive seasons. Last year, he averaged 9.6 points, a team-leading 4.4 assists, 1.9 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game. He buried 36 3-pointers last year, shooting 34.6 percent from beyond the arc. As a freshman, Morse averaged 8.5 points, 4.2 assists and 2.1 rebounds per game while shooting 45 percent from downtown.
Phillips, a native of Portland, Ore., was the second-leading scorer in the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges at Chemeketa Community College in 2010-11, averaging 23.1 points per game. He led his team with 3.6 assists and 1.7 steals per game while pulling down a 3.8 rebounding average. He earned NWAACC All-Southern Region First Team honors two consecutive seasons. As a freshman, he averaged 19 points, 4.2 assists, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.7 steals per game, leading his team in scoring and assists as well in 2009-10.
Yarbrough, a native of Zion, Ill., played two seasons at Kilgore College. As a sophomore in 2010-11, he averaged 9.0 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. He shot 65.2 percent from the field, ranking second in NJCAA Region 14. Yarbrough averaged 7.3 points and 3.4 rebounds per game in 2009-10 as a freshman, shooting 56.1 percent from the field.
Rodenburg is a native of Omaha, Neb., and has one year of eligibility left, transferring from the University of South Dakota. Last season, Rodenburg appeared in nine games for USD in 2010-11 and averaged 1.3 points per game in limited action. He played two years at Iowa Western Community College before transferring to South Dakota.
Dreiling will join the team after a one-year absence from competitive basketball. As a senior in 2009-10, Dreiling averaged a team-best 14.0 points and 7.2 rebounds per game for Victoria High School.