The Bruins men's basketball team is excited to welcome nine players to the roster for the 2020-21 season. The Bruins finished last season 14-13, falling just short in winning their third NCCAA DII South Region Championship in the last four seasons.
"I think this incoming group of freshmen deserve to be commended for committing to BJU during such a trying time in our country," Bruins Head Coach Burton Uwarow said. "Many of them received accolades both on and off the court. I try to recruit guys that are well-rounded and I believe this class is no exception."
The Bruins battled through the early stages of a tough schedule in 2019-20, but found their groove near the end of the first semester as they rattled off four straight wins. After the break, the Bruins again caught fire winning four straight as they built momentum to the regional tournament.
Bob Jones University would play host to the DII South Regional Tournament where the Bruins opened the playoffs with a convincing 94-59 win over #4 Southeastern Baptist College in the semifinals. This setup a championship battle between the Bruins and #2 Johnson University (FL) for the region championship.
Despite a back and forth battle throughout, the Suns were able to upset the Bruins as they won 68-66. Just weeks afterwards, the basketball season and the national tournament would be canceled due to COVID-19.
The Bruins graduated four seniors from last year's team including All-Americans Nate Ellenwood and Jayson Barnhart. Still, the programs returns a core group of players and welcomes a talented recruit class for the 2020-21 season. Here are the new players joining the roster:
Antonio Gordon - 6'1" (Morrow, GA)
Gordon competed for Morrow High School in Morrow, Georgia, where he ranked high in nearly every stat category for his region. He also made the academic honor roll. Several times throughout his career, he was the player of the game and even was nominated for player of the week honors for the state. In his AAU career, Gordon won several MVP awards and also led two tournaments in assists, steals and blocks while serving as a captain for the team. He is majoring in business at BJU this fall.
Carter Kirkland - 6'6" (Greer, SC)
Kirkland joins the Bruins from Greer Middle Charter School in Greer, South Carolina. Throughout his career, Kirkland helped lead the program to its best record in school history during his junior and senior seasons. Kirkland recorded over 1,000 rebounds and over 500 assists in his career while also being chosen in the top-75 players in South Carolina by Preps Hoops. Academically, Kirkland was among the top of his class where he maintained an A-average each year to earn National Beta Club and National Honors Society awards. Kirkland is majoring in engineering at BJU.
Anderson Kirkland - 6'6" (Greer, SC)
Kirkland joins his brother Carter on the 2020-21 roster for the Bruins from Greer Middle Charter High School in Greer, South Carolina. Kirkland recorded over 1,000 rebounds and 1,000 points in his career while also being named a Top-75 player in South Carolina by Preps Hoops. He served as team captain his senior year where he led his team in blocks and rebounds. Kirkland received several All-Region and All-Area awards throughout his career and also excelled academically with National Beta Club and National Honors Society awards. Kirkland actually wrote and published a novel in high school and is majoring in journalism and mass communication at BJU this year.
Stephan Hugley - 6'4" (Ludowici, GA)
Hugley is a transfer player from LaGrange College in LaGrange, Georgia where he maintained an A-B average academically. He graduated from Long County High School where he averaged 15.5 points and 12 rebounds per game as a senior. Stephan was named Defensive Player of The Year as a junior and again as a senior while also earning All-Region second team as a senior and honorable mention as a junior. Hugley helped lead Long County to a Sweet 16 berth in the AAA state playoffs during his junior year and his majoring in personal training at BJU this year.
Kenneth Garrick Jr. - 6'3" (Covington, GA)
Garrick played his high school ball at Eastside High School in Covington, Georgia. Throughout his career, Garrick excelled in the classroom and on the court as he was selected as the player of the year for his team during his sophomore season. He then was selected as the offensive player of the year his junior season while earning the highest GPA on his team his senior year. As an A honor roll student, Garrick also received several academic recognitions throughout his high school career. He is majoring in engineering at BJU.
Cobe Grandstaff - 6'0" (Orlando, FL)
Grandstaff joins the Bruins from Family Christian Academy in Orlando, Florida. During his high school career, Grandstaff scored over 1,700 career points and was a two-time state champion. He was named All-Conference three times and also his team's player of the year. Off the court, Grandstaff was awarded he leadership award his freshman, sophomore and junior years while being named the student athlete of the year during his senior year. This year, Grandstaff is majoring in ministry and leadership.
Sawyer Smith - 6'7" (Morristown, TN)
Smith hails from Morristown, Tennessee where he played for Morristown West High School. His senior season, he helped lead the team to a third straight winning season which hadn't been done at the program since the early 2000's. Smith is majoring in information technology this year at BJU.
Dominic Owens - 6'0" (Fairburn, GA)
Owens joins the Bruins from Creekside High School in Fairburn, Georgia where he was on the AB honor roll all four years of high school. During his career, he was named All-Region his season season while also being selected as the student-athlete of the month. During his junior year, Owens received super honor roll recognition at his school. He is majoring in information technology at BJU this year.
Jacob Swan - 6'3" (Greenville, SC)
Swan played his high school ball at Hampton Park Christian School in Greenville, South Carolina. During his career, Swan was named to the All-Tournament team and was selected as the team's most valuable player (MVP) four times in his career. He helped lead his team to a state championship his senior season and is majoring in business administration at BJU.
"We have 23 guys in our entire program and almost all of them are freshmen and sophomores," Coach Uwarow said. "They have to mature and accept responsibility earlier than maybe any other team has been expected to in our program history. The NCAA DIII philosophy and my personal coaching philosophy are aligned in regards to their responsibility to take ownership of their own game and to take ownership of the team. Player-led teams are always more successful than coach-led teams so we're excited to see what this team can do this year."
The Bruins are excited to begin the 2020-21 season as they welcome one of the largest recruit classes in program history. Stay tuned as the 2020-21 schedule will be released online in the coming weeks.
