Media release...
TULSA, Okla. — The University of Tulsa head men’s basketball coach Frank Haith announced on Tuesday that he has signed five student-athletes, Josh Earley (Shawnee Mission, Kan./Bishop Miege HS), Keyshawn Embery-Simpson (Midwest City, Okla./Arkansas), Curtis Haywood II (Oklahoma City, Okla./Georgia Tech), Brandon Rachal (Natchitoches, La./Pearl River CC) and Emmanuel Ugboh (Lagos, Nigeria/Iowa Western CC) during the spring signing period.
The group will join prep standout Isaiah Hill (Bakersfield, Calif./Liberty HS) as part of the 2019 recruiting class. Transfers Haywood II, Rachal and Ugboh will have two years of eligibility, while Embery-Simpson will have three years in a TU uniform.
“This is an exciting day for our program and I am thrilled to welcome Josh, Keyshawn, Curtis, Brandon and Manny to the Tulsa family,” Haith said. “Along with Isaiah Hill, who we signed in the fall, this is an incredibly talented group with a winning pedigree and competitive mentality. They are all high-character, high-quality student-athletes that fit our university’s mission and will be a great addition to the Tulsa community. I cannot wait to get everyone back on campus this summer to begin laying the foundation for our 2019-20 season.”
Earley is a 6-foot-8 forward from Shawnee Mission, Kan., who is a consensus three-star prospect after winning three state championships at Bishop Meige High School.
He was a first-team All-Eastern Kansas League and honorable mention All-Class 4A selection as a senior and was ranked as the No. 3 player in the state by PrepHoops.com. Earley also was recognized as one of the top players in the talent-rich Kansas City area as he was selected to play in the DiRenna All-Star Game and the Stateline Showdown All-Star Game.
He was an All-EKL pick as a junior after he nearly averaged a double-double and played for the KC Run GMC AAU program.
Embery-Simpson is a 6-foot-3 guard from Midwest City, Okla., who played his freshman season at Arkansas in 2018-19.
He played in 33 games and averaged 4.1 points, 1.2 rebounds and 14.6 minutes per contest and helped the Razorbacks to an 18-win campaign. Embery-Simpson scored a season-high 16 points in road contests at Ole Miss and at LSU and he hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 14 seconds left to lift Arkansas to a win over Vanderbilt.
A consensus four-star recruit, Embery-Simpson played three seasons at Midwest City High School before finishing his prep career at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. He was rated as the No. 22 point guard in the country and the No. 13 overall prospect in Florida by 247sports.com.
As a junior at Midwest City High School, he averaged 26.8 points and 5.6 rebounds while earning a spot on The Oklahoman’s Super 5 Team. He helped lead the Bombers to a 23-4 record and state championship that season, as well.
Haywood II is a 6-foot-5 guard from Oklahoma City, Okla., who played his first two seasons (2017-19) at Georgia Tech.
During his two seasons with the Yellow Jackets, Haywood II appeared in 44 games with 23 starts and totaled 243 points, 121 rebounds, 94 assists and 47 steals. Last season, he made 19 starts and ranked third on the team with 59 assists and 34 steals. Haywood II scored a career-high 18 points in a win over ECU behind a 3-for-5 effort behind the arc and he finished the season ranked second on the squad in 3-point percentage.
In all, he scored in double-figures 10 times at Georgia Tech and used his 6-foot-11 wingspan to his advantage on the defensive end.
Haywood II was a three-star prospect out of high school, and he played at Mustang (Okla.) High School before spending a year at Brewster Academy, one of the nation’s elite prep programs, in New Hampshire.
He helped lead Brewster to a 33-0 record, a New England Prep School Athletic Council AAA Championship and the program’s fifth national title in eight years. He averaged 12 points, 4.5 assists, 4.5 rebounds and a team-high 2.1 steals on his way to all-conference honors.
Prior to his time at Brewster, Haywood II scored 22.2 points per game in his final season at Mustang High School to earn honorable mention All-Class 6A laurels from The Oklahoman. He helped Mustang to a perfect 28-0 record and state championship as a sophomore.
Rachal is a 6-foot-6 guard from Natchitoches, La., who spent his freshman season at LSU before playing the 2018-19 campaign at Pearl River CC in Poplarville, Miss.
Rachal was named a second-team All-American by the NJCAA last season and he also was selected to the All-Region XXIII Tournament and All-Region XXIII teams, along with earning all-conference honors. During the season, he was tabbed the conference’s Player of the Week three times and was the NJCAA Division I National Player of the Week once.
He averaged 15.5 points, 8.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game for the Wildcats, who went 26-4 and made the program’s first-ever NJCAA Tournament appearance.
At LSU in 2017-18, Rachal logged the second-most playing time of any freshman on the team as he appeared in 27 games and averaged 4.4 points, 3.3 rebounds and 15.9 minutes per game. He shot 53.3-percent from the field and had single-game highs of 10 points (twice) and 13 rebounds.
A consensus four-star recruit coming out of Natchitoches Central High School in Louisiana, he led the Chiefs to a pair of Class 5A state titles and one runner-up finish. Rachal earned multiple All-District and All-Louisiana honors along with District MVP and State MVP laurels. He was named the state championship MVP in 2016 after he registered 24 points and 11 rebounds in the title game.
Rachal also played three years of football (wide receiver) at Natchitoches Central.
Ugboh is a 6-foot-11 center from Lagos, Nigeria, who played his freshman and sophomore seasons at Iowa Western CC.
He appeared in 30 games with 29 starts and nearly averaged a double-double at 12.0 points and 9.6 rebounds, while he shot 65.8-percent from the floor in 2018-19 for the Reivers. Ugboh recorded 12 double-doubles and four 20-point games, including a season-high 23 points on 10-of-11 shooting on two occasions.
A second-team All-Region XI pick, he helped lead the Reivers to a 21-9 record and to the semifinals of the Region XI playoffs.
As a freshman in 2017-18, Ugboh started all 32 games and averaged 6.2 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. He shot a team-high 62.8-percent on a squad that had eight players move on to NCAA Division I or Division II programs. Ugboh was an honorable mention All-Region XI honoree and was invited to the elite Jerry Mullen’s JUCO Top 100 camp following the campaign.
He spent his prep career at Quality Education Academy in Winston Salem, N.C., where he averaged 8.0 points and 9.0 rebounds per game to go along with 4.0 blocks per contest.
TULSA, Okla. — The University of Tulsa head men’s basketball coach Frank Haith announced on Tuesday that he has signed five student-athletes, Josh Earley (Shawnee Mission, Kan./Bishop Miege HS), Keyshawn Embery-Simpson (Midwest City, Okla./Arkansas), Curtis Haywood II (Oklahoma City, Okla./Georgia Tech), Brandon Rachal (Natchitoches, La./Pearl River CC) and Emmanuel Ugboh (Lagos, Nigeria/Iowa Western CC) during the spring signing period.
The group will join prep standout Isaiah Hill (Bakersfield, Calif./Liberty HS) as part of the 2019 recruiting class. Transfers Haywood II, Rachal and Ugboh will have two years of eligibility, while Embery-Simpson will have three years in a TU uniform.
“This is an exciting day for our program and I am thrilled to welcome Josh, Keyshawn, Curtis, Brandon and Manny to the Tulsa family,” Haith said. “Along with Isaiah Hill, who we signed in the fall, this is an incredibly talented group with a winning pedigree and competitive mentality. They are all high-character, high-quality student-athletes that fit our university’s mission and will be a great addition to the Tulsa community. I cannot wait to get everyone back on campus this summer to begin laying the foundation for our 2019-20 season.”
Earley is a 6-foot-8 forward from Shawnee Mission, Kan., who is a consensus three-star prospect after winning three state championships at Bishop Meige High School.
He was a first-team All-Eastern Kansas League and honorable mention All-Class 4A selection as a senior and was ranked as the No. 3 player in the state by PrepHoops.com. Earley also was recognized as one of the top players in the talent-rich Kansas City area as he was selected to play in the DiRenna All-Star Game and the Stateline Showdown All-Star Game.
He was an All-EKL pick as a junior after he nearly averaged a double-double and played for the KC Run GMC AAU program.
Embery-Simpson is a 6-foot-3 guard from Midwest City, Okla., who played his freshman season at Arkansas in 2018-19.
He played in 33 games and averaged 4.1 points, 1.2 rebounds and 14.6 minutes per contest and helped the Razorbacks to an 18-win campaign. Embery-Simpson scored a season-high 16 points in road contests at Ole Miss and at LSU and he hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 14 seconds left to lift Arkansas to a win over Vanderbilt.
A consensus four-star recruit, Embery-Simpson played three seasons at Midwest City High School before finishing his prep career at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. He was rated as the No. 22 point guard in the country and the No. 13 overall prospect in Florida by 247sports.com.
As a junior at Midwest City High School, he averaged 26.8 points and 5.6 rebounds while earning a spot on The Oklahoman’s Super 5 Team. He helped lead the Bombers to a 23-4 record and state championship that season, as well.
Haywood II is a 6-foot-5 guard from Oklahoma City, Okla., who played his first two seasons (2017-19) at Georgia Tech.
During his two seasons with the Yellow Jackets, Haywood II appeared in 44 games with 23 starts and totaled 243 points, 121 rebounds, 94 assists and 47 steals. Last season, he made 19 starts and ranked third on the team with 59 assists and 34 steals. Haywood II scored a career-high 18 points in a win over ECU behind a 3-for-5 effort behind the arc and he finished the season ranked second on the squad in 3-point percentage.
In all, he scored in double-figures 10 times at Georgia Tech and used his 6-foot-11 wingspan to his advantage on the defensive end.
Haywood II was a three-star prospect out of high school, and he played at Mustang (Okla.) High School before spending a year at Brewster Academy, one of the nation’s elite prep programs, in New Hampshire.
He helped lead Brewster to a 33-0 record, a New England Prep School Athletic Council AAA Championship and the program’s fifth national title in eight years. He averaged 12 points, 4.5 assists, 4.5 rebounds and a team-high 2.1 steals on his way to all-conference honors.
Prior to his time at Brewster, Haywood II scored 22.2 points per game in his final season at Mustang High School to earn honorable mention All-Class 6A laurels from The Oklahoman. He helped Mustang to a perfect 28-0 record and state championship as a sophomore.
Rachal is a 6-foot-6 guard from Natchitoches, La., who spent his freshman season at LSU before playing the 2018-19 campaign at Pearl River CC in Poplarville, Miss.
Rachal was named a second-team All-American by the NJCAA last season and he also was selected to the All-Region XXIII Tournament and All-Region XXIII teams, along with earning all-conference honors. During the season, he was tabbed the conference’s Player of the Week three times and was the NJCAA Division I National Player of the Week once.
He averaged 15.5 points, 8.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game for the Wildcats, who went 26-4 and made the program’s first-ever NJCAA Tournament appearance.
At LSU in 2017-18, Rachal logged the second-most playing time of any freshman on the team as he appeared in 27 games and averaged 4.4 points, 3.3 rebounds and 15.9 minutes per game. He shot 53.3-percent from the field and had single-game highs of 10 points (twice) and 13 rebounds.
A consensus four-star recruit coming out of Natchitoches Central High School in Louisiana, he led the Chiefs to a pair of Class 5A state titles and one runner-up finish. Rachal earned multiple All-District and All-Louisiana honors along with District MVP and State MVP laurels. He was named the state championship MVP in 2016 after he registered 24 points and 11 rebounds in the title game.
Rachal also played three years of football (wide receiver) at Natchitoches Central.
Ugboh is a 6-foot-11 center from Lagos, Nigeria, who played his freshman and sophomore seasons at Iowa Western CC.
He appeared in 30 games with 29 starts and nearly averaged a double-double at 12.0 points and 9.6 rebounds, while he shot 65.8-percent from the floor in 2018-19 for the Reivers. Ugboh recorded 12 double-doubles and four 20-point games, including a season-high 23 points on 10-of-11 shooting on two occasions.
A second-team All-Region XI pick, he helped lead the Reivers to a 21-9 record and to the semifinals of the Region XI playoffs.
As a freshman in 2017-18, Ugboh started all 32 games and averaged 6.2 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. He shot a team-high 62.8-percent on a squad that had eight players move on to NCAA Division I or Division II programs. Ugboh was an honorable mention All-Region XI honoree and was invited to the elite Jerry Mullen’s JUCO Top 100 camp following the campaign.
He spent his prep career at Quality Education Academy in Winston Salem, N.C., where he averaged 8.0 points and 9.0 rebounds per game to go along with 4.0 blocks per contest.
