UCF head men’s basketball coach Johnny Dawkins has announced the signing of Illinois State graduate transfer Nick Banyard. The 6-foot-8 forward is immediately eligible to play in 2016-17 since he will be receiving his undergraduate degree this summer from ISU.

“Nick brings a lot of experience to our program and is able to help us out right away with being a graduate transfer,” said Dawkins. “He has good size and athleticism as a stretch four, which will allow us to spread the floor.”

Banyard played in all 32 games, including seven starts, and averaged 5.2 points and 4.3 rebounds during the 2015-16 season. Banyard reach double-digit scoring three times, including a career-high 18 points in a win at Evansville (Feb. 11). In the final nine games of the season, he averaged 7.1 points and 4.7 rebounds per game.

Prior to joining the Redbirds, he spent his freshman and sophomore seasons at New Mexico. In two seasons, he appeared in 54 games and averaged 1.3 points and 1.5 rebounds.

A native of Flower Mound, Texas, Banyard aided Marcus High School earn back-to-back Texas Class 5A state titles as a junior and senior. He was named an all-district and second-team all-state selection after his senior season. One of his teammates on those state championship teams was Marcus Smart, who currently plays for the Boston Celtics.

Banyard’s brother, Joe, played football at the University of Texas El Paso and is currently a running back for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Article provided and written by UCF Athletics.