JACKSONVILLE – Head men's basketball coach
Ray Harper announced the addition of two transfers Friday morning, adding guards Caleb Byrd and Jalen Gibbs for the 2021-22 season.
Byrd, a 6-foot-1 freshman, spent last season at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and Gibbs, a 6-foot-3 senior, comes to Jacksonville State from Mount St. Mary's.
"We're excited to add Jalen and Caleb to our roster," Harper said. "Both of these guys are great shooters and student-athletes, but they're even better people. They're both very talented and are great additions to our team."
Byrd played nine games his freshman season at UNCC, scoring seven points off the bench. He helped the 49ers to an appearance in the Conference USA Championships before entering the transfer portal. The guard will be classified as a freshman with Jax State.
Hailing from Conyers, Georgia, Byrd scored a whopping 2,142 points during his prep career and was ranked a three-star recruit by 247Sports and Rivals. He played his senior season at Newton High School in Covington, Georgia, where he averaged 22 points per game and earned Second Team 7A All-State and First Team All-Region honors. Prior to playing at Newton, Byrd spent three seasons at Rome High School. As a junior with the Wolves, he led the state in scoring with 35 points per game. A two-time all-state and all-region selection at Rome, he tallied a single-game high 51 points against Forest Park High School in December 2018.
"Caleb is a guy we recruited out of high school," Harper said. "I watched him play a lot of basketball the two summers before his senior season. He's an electrifying guard who can score the basketball."
Gibbs saw limited playing time his freshman season at Drake before transferring to Mount St. Mary's where he never averaged below 11 points per game. In his first season with The Mount in 2018-19, the guard exploded for 400 points, averaging 12.9 per contest in 31 starts. His junior season saw him total 337 points (11.2 ppg), scoring 20 or more points on five occasions. Gibbs led the team in scoring with 16.5 points per game through four games last season, turning in a 19-point performance at Maryland before deciding to transfer.
A native of Indian Head, Maryland, Gibbs prepped at North Point High School. He was named the Southern Maryland Athletics Conference's Most Outstanding Player and was a Washington Post First Team All-Met selection. He reigns as North Point's all-time leading scorer.
"Jalen is a really high-level, athletic scoring guard," Harper said. "He's a veteran guy who can score the ball and brings a lot of experience to our team."
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