Youngstown -- The Youngstown State men's basketball program has signed Brett Frantz (Lawrence, Kan.) to a National Letter of Intent during the late signing period to join the Penguins for the 2015-16 season, Head Coach Jerry Slocum announced on Monday.
Frantz, a 6-foot-3 guard from Neosho County Community College, will have two years of eligibility with the Penguins. He spent two seasons at NCCC and scored 727 points with 187 rebounds and 130 assists. Frantz also made 130 3-pointers during his career with the Panthers and connected on 39.9 percent (130-of-326) 3-point attempts. He is also a career 81.3 percent free-throw shooter.
"Brett is a great addition for us," Slocum said. "He is a kid with an incredible basketball IQ, a great shooter, and a great team guy. He's just a great basketball player, in terms of what we need in adding another good perimeter player.
"He's got good size at 6-foot-3 and shoots the ball well. Brett's what we need in the backcourt. We needed some experience, we needed some size, and we needed a mature guy that has played some college games. To a young backcourt, he brings us that kind of experience."
Last season as a sophomore, Frantz started all 30 games and helped the Panthers to a 25-5 overall record. He scored in double figures 23 times, and averaged 14.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game while shooting 43 percent from the field and 40.5 percent from 3-point range.
Frantz, who scored at least 20 points on seven occasions, connected on 75-of-185 3-pointers as a sophomore and made at least one 3-pointer in all 30 contests.
"I'm really excited about this opportunity," Frantz said. "I went to junior college with the hopes of being able to play Division I basketball one day, and the Youngstown State coaching staff has given me a chance. I'm ready to get started."
Frantz thinks his experience is a benefit, but he is more than just a shooter.
"I'm a junior college guy so I have some college playing experience and I think that will help. I'm also a shooter but can also make plays off the dribble when I have to."
As a freshman, Frantz played in all 32 games and made 25 starts in 2013-14 when the Panthers went 21-11. He scored 301 points for an average of 9.4 points per game and reached double figures 16 times.
As a senior at Free State High School in Lawrence, Kan., Frantz led the team in scoring with 13.7 points per game.
He joins joins Jordan Andrews (Reserve, La.), Latin Davis (Ypsilanti, Mich.), Matt Donlan (Melbourne, Australia) and Devin Haygood (Ypsilanti, Mich.) in the 2015-16 recruiting class.
