CHARLESTON – Men's Basketball announced the addition of four additional players to their 2024-2025 roster on Wednesday including a trio of true freshman and a junior college transfer.
 
The team was able to identify and bring in exactly the type of players they needed to fill in the rest of their roster. In the group they bring in a pair of freshmen guards in Anthony Gause and Kennan Wilkins. Wilkins has been a high efficiency scorer for most of his career as well as a proven winner, Gause a high-level scorer and defender. They also brought in a pair of big men in transfer Reis Jones and true freshman Ellis Graham. Jones brings with him a pair of years of experience playing college basketball while Graham brings with him a reputation as one of the top defenders in the state of South Carolina this past season.
 
For a full detailed breakdown of the players in today's signing class, check below. This bumps the total roster additions for this signing period to seven players. They join the three transfer signings of Jaylon Gibson (Forward, UNC Greensboro), Derrick Harris Jr. (Guard, Georgia Southern) and Lamar Oden Jr. (Guard, Drexel) from the start of this month. The staff is continuing to look to fill their last remaining roster spots over the next few weeks as preparation for their next season continues.
 
Anthony Gause * Guard * 6'3" * St. Louis, Mo. / Milton HS (Ga.)
Gause is going to be an additional guard that will join the Buccaneers this summer. He can contribute on both ends of the court and is a quick starter when it comes to turning defense into offense. This past season he was named the GHSA 7A Region 6 Defensive Player of the Year as well as a First-Team Region selection.

Saah Nimley – Head Coach of Charleston Southern: "We are super excited to add Anthony to our basketball family. Anthony carries himself and plays with a swagger that immediately attracted us to him. His combination of skills, feel for the game, confidence, and work ethic poises him to have a very good career in our program. Anthony will be a great addition to our program but also this University and community."

White Gary - Head Coach of Milton HS: "Anthony had a great year at Milton High School, and helped lead us to another Region Championship, Region Tournament Championship and a Final Four run in the ever difficult 7A GHSA State playoffs, where we lost to eventual state champion Grayson HS.    Charleston Southern is getting an unbelievable player, but an even better person.  We are excited to see what his future holds."
 
Ellis Graham * Forward * 6'9" * West Columbia, S.C. / Gray Collegiate Academy
Graham will join Charleston Southern's front court and look to make a big impact as a rim protector and helping the team to a pair of State Titles in 2023 and 2024. Graham has emerged as one of top big men in the state of South Carolina, collecting 110 blocks over the past two seasons. He averaged nearly a double-double with 10 points and eight rebounds earning All-State honors this past season.

During his junior and senior years at the school, he was named All-Region in each. At the end of the season, he was selected to play in the North Carolina/South Carolina All-Star game as one of the top five seniors in SCHSL AA. In his two seasons the team went 56-12 to go with a 15-1 mark in region play. This past year they went a perfect 8-0 against in-region foes.

Saah Nimley – Head Coach of Charleston Southern: "We are extremely excited to add Ellis to our basketball program. Ellis possesses a defensive gift that translates to all levels of the game with his shot blocking instincts. We are excited about developing the other areas of his game while he brings his gift to our program. Ellis is a hard worker, and I am very thrilled to be able to add him to our program and university."

Dion Bethea – Head Coach of Gray Collegiate Academy: "It has been a pleasure to coach Ellis and watch him grow into an unbelievable student-athlete on and off the court. I am looking forward to seeing him at Charleston Southern."
 
Reis Jones * Forward * 6'10" *Fort Washington, Maryland / Florida Southwestern
Jones arrives at Charleston Southern will previous NCAA D1 experience. Jones spent his freshman season at Morehead State and was at Florida Southwestern this past school year. During his sophomore year with the Buccaneers of Florida, he played in 31 games making 10 starts at the school. He finished with averages of 5.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game in just 16 minutes of action per outing. The team had a remarkable season with him in the program, finishing the year with a mark of 22-9.

While Jones was with the Eagles, he played in 10 games. The team finished the year with a record of 22-12, going 14-4 in Ohio Valley contests as well as 14-2 at home. They qualified for the NIT during the postseason and defeated Clemson at Littlejohn Coliseum in the opening round of the tournament. In high school he played a pair of seasons at Flint Hill (Oakton, Virginia) after spending three years at Oxon Hill, Maryland. During his senior season he averaged a double-double with 13 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks a game. He was selected to the DMV Elite 80 three times and was named a First-Team All-Star during his senior season as well. Both of his parents played basketball collegiately as well as professionally. His sister, Rainelle, played volleyball at the University of Maryland and ended her career with the 5^th most blocks in Big 10 history (718).

Saah Nimley – Head Coach of Charleston Southern: "Reis is an excellent addition to our basketball family. He has the size, strength and athleticism that will make him very effective in our league. Reis's blue-collar mentality is what really attracted us to him. He just works. Every time we watched him, he just worked and did all the things it took to win basketball games and we are extremely excited for him to bring that to Charleston. He is a young man of strong faith and high academics, making him a perfect fit for our program and University."
 
Keenan Wilkins * Guard * 6'0 * Hendersonville, N.C. / Christ School
Wilkins is a guard from the outskirts of Asheville, North Carolina that will be an immediate impact in the backcourt of the Buccaneers. He spent the past two seasons at the Christ School, winning a pair of NCISAA 4A State Championships after being a three-year member of the Hendersonville High School team. While at Hendersonville, he helped lead the school to a NCHSAA 2A State Runner-Up Finish during the 2020-2021 season.

During his senior season he was a First-Team All-State honoree and CAA Conference MVP as he averaged 16.7 points to go with 6.2 assists a game. He finished the year with shooting averages of 46%/44%/81%. Additionally, he had 3.2 rebounds to go with 1.5 steals a game. He closed out his high school career with a mark of 126-14 for a winning percentage of 90%. For his career he finished with a total of 2,581 points, 547 assists, 306 rebounds and 340 steals.

Saah Nimley – Head Coach of Charleston Southern: "We are blessed to add Keenan to our basketball program. Keenan is just a winner. The way he approaches basketball and life is that of a winner. This is a kid that won two state championships and scored over 2500 points in a very competitive North Carolina basketball atmosphere. We are confident that his skills and his winning intangibles will translate to our program, and we can't wait to see how he develops."

Josh Coley – Head Coach of Christ School: "Keenan is the epitome of an "everyday guy."  He led us daily in his preparation, his professionalism, and his competitiveness in practice and games.  As a result, he accomplished amazing feats during his high school career, with winning being the consistent priority.  It has been an honor coaching him and watching him grow on and off the floor and witnessing firsthand the impact that he has had, and continues to have, on his teammates and our community.  He will be a tremendous asset to Coach Nimley, the Charleston Southern Basketball program, the University and Community of Charleston.  I am excited to see him continue his winning ways under the leadership of Coach Nimley."