Roger Woods served as a catalyst for UALR's run to the second round of the NCAA Tournament last month. Wes Flanigan hopes his first signee will fill the void left by Woods' departure.
UALR announced Wednesday the signing of Corbyn Jackson, a 6-7 forward who averaged 11.0 points and 7.2 rebounds last season for South Georgia Tech College. Jackson, originally from Goochland, Va., will have two seasons of eligibility.
"He's a guy that's going to remind a lot of people a little bit of Roger Woods," said Flanigan, who served as Jackson's lead recruiter last season. "Hopefully, he's as good of a player as Roger. He's an inside-out guy, can dribble, pass and shoot."
Jackson joins guard Andre Jones, from Malvern, and guard Ryan Pippins, from Little Rock Parkview, who both signed in the early signing period, in UALR's signing class. The three additions commit UALR to 13 scholarships for next season, the limit for NCAA Division I men's teams.
Flanigan said the roster could change before next season, but likely not until his coaching staff is hired.
"We'll get our staff in here and kind of see what those guys' ideas are and who they've been involved with," Flanigan said. "We're always looking to improve our roster. But the main thing right now is getting them in here and turning our focus to the 2017 class."
The UALR women's basketball team lost its leader in assists, Alexius Dawn, but added a high school guard to help take her place among a slew of returners with backcourt experience.
Sydney Chastain signed with UALR on Wednesday, the school announced. The point guard is from Westmoore High School in Oklahoma City, where she set the career (468), single season (159) and single game (11) school record for assists, and the career record for steals (174).
She averaged 8.7 points, 3.2 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.7 steals for her career.
"We feel like we got a steal in finding a guard of Sydney's caliber in the late signing period," Coach Joe Foley said. "We have looked for a guard of her caliber for over a year and finally found her."
Chastain joins North Little Rock's Kyra Collier in this signing class. Collier signed with UALR in the early signing period.
The Arkansas State women's basketball team added a guard, too, in Jonesboro High School's Starr Taylor, the daughter of ASU cornerbacks coach Trooper Taylor.
The 5-6 point guard averaged 15.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.5 steals per game while leading the Hurricane to the Class 6A state title. Taylor will help fill the void of five departures, including three-time Sun Belt Conference player of the year Aundrea Gamble.
"This is one of the most important recruiting classes during my time here at Arkansas State," ASU Coach Brian Boyer said. "Athletically, Starr will immediately be able to compete in the Sun Belt Conference."
Taylor is the fifth player to sign with ASU, joining four players who signed in the early period.
UCA men's Coach Russ Pennell announced the signing of Darraja Parnell, a 6-4 guard from Andover (Kan.) Central, and Jared Chatham, a 6-8 forward from George Washington Prep in Los Angeles on Wednesday. They join Aaron Weidenaar, a 6-6, guard, who signed in November, in Pennell's class.
Sports on 04/14/2016