Emporia State head men’s basketball coach Tom Billeter announced his inaugural recruiting class in Emporia on Wednesday afternoon. The class includes five transfers and four freshmen. Two of the freshmen are from Kansas including former Emporia High standout Sheldon Stewart who averaged 13 ppg and 5 rpg for the Spartans this year on the way to earning Second Team All-Centennial League honors as a senior. The class will also include three players who followed Billeter from Augustana. The other freshmen include:
Will Cravens (Ellsworth, Kan.) – guard, Ellsworth HS: First Team All-State and a Kansas 3A Player of the Year finalist after averaging 23 ppg and 6 rpg with 3 apg for the Bearcats last season.
Justin Mack (Sugarland, Tex.) – guard, Fort Bend Travis HS: First Team All-District after averaging 15 ppg, 4 rpg, and four apg on the way to being ranked as a top 25 recruit in the Houston area.
Awit Mamer (Omaha, Neb.) – guard, Omaha Central HS: Spent last season at We Are United Prep after averaging 14 ppg and 7 rpg as a senior at Omaha Central in 2022-23.
The transfers include:
Dallas Bear (Cedar Falls, Iowa) – sophomore, forward, Augustana: Played 18 games last year as a true freshman for the Vikings and was previously a Second Team All-State honoree as a senior at Cedar Falls HS.
Donald Coats III (Chicago, Ill.) – junior, forward, Parkland CC: Averaged 12 ppg and 7 rpg as a sophomore at Parkland for the Cobras after redshirting at Missouri Southern to begin his career.
Malik Edwards (Philadelphia) – junior, guard, Niagara: Played just five games last year for the Purple Eagles after missing the season with an injury; played two seasons at William Penn where he averaged 17 ppg and was an NAIA All-American as a sophomore.
Brayson Laube (Marion, Iowa) – sophomore, guard, Augustana: Played 29 games as a true freshman for Coach Billeter while averaging 3 ppg; previously was the Iowa Class 3A Player of the Year after averaging 22 ppg as a senior at Marion HS.
Arhman Lewis (Madison, Wis.) – sophomore, guard, Augustana: Played 30 games with 20 starts as a true freshman and was third on the team in scoring for the Vikings at 9 ppg while leading the team with 107 assists and was All-State Honorable Mention as a senior at Robert M. Lafollette HS after averaging 19 ppg.
The Hornets finished 19-12 last season.
