Youngstown, Ohio -- Junior forward Matt Donlan (Melbourne, Australia) has signed a National Letter of Intent to join the Youngstown State men's basketball program for the 2015-16, Head Coach Jerry Slocum announced on Wednesday. Donlan will have two years of eligibility remaining.
Donlan, a 6-foot-7 forward, spent last season at Iowa Western Community College where he averaged 11.7 points per game and led the team with 77 3-pointers made and a .440 3-point field-goal percentage.
He was the only player on the team to start all 30 games for the Reivers and was an Honorable Mention All-Region XI selection.
Slocum said Donlan is a great fit for the Penguins due to his versatility, work ethic and knowledge of basketball.
"Matt is a great addition for us," Slocum said. "He can play multiple position and has a great ability to shoot the ball. He also has a tremendous basketball IQ and is an extremely hard worker, and those are two qualities we seek in our basketball players."
Donlan echoed Slocum that Youngstown State was a great fit for him.
"The reason I chose Youngstown State was I felt comfortable with the coaching staff," Donlan said. "I felt an immediate connection with Coach Slocum and Coach (Mike) Wernicki.
"The team is a tight-knit unit and I really enjoyed the campus."
Donlan thinks his experience and team-first attitude can help the Penguins.
"I think I bring experience after playing at the Division I level, and I'm a team-first, win-first kind of player. I want to make my teammates better."
Prior to Iowa Western, Donlan spent two seasons at South Dakota State, including redshirting during the 2012-13 season.
During his senior season at Capital Christian High School, Donlan led his squad to a 25-7 overall record and averaged 18 points, seven rebounds, four assists the three blocks per game. He was also named the Division 5 Player of the Year and the conference most valuable player.
Donlan joins Jordan Andrews (Reserve, La.), Latin Davis (Ypsilanti, Mich.) and Devin Haygood (Ypsilanti, Mich.) in the 2015-16 recruiting class.
Andrews, a 6-foot-5 guard, led his prep squad to a third straight state championship in 2014-15 and was named the tournament most valuable player. Last season, Andrews averaged 15.3 points and 8.3 rebounds per game.
Davis, a 5-foot-11 point guard, was recently named the Ann Arbor News Player of the Year. Davis averaged 18.8 points per game in the regular season at Milan High School, before increasing his scoring to 22.8 points per game in the playoffs. His 460 points as a senior brought his career total to 1,489, which ranks second in program history behind Stan Joplin (1,501).
Haygood also posted a solid senior campaign averaging 13.3 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game for Lincoln Senior High School.
