Transfer rule costs Rebels signee
Published 12:00 pm Thursday, June 23, 2016
The Ole Miss men’s basketball team has lost a member of its incoming recruiting class.
Junior college signee Tyrek Coger has been released from his scholarship after he wasn’t able to enroll because of a Southeastern Conference transfer rule. One of seven members of the Rebels’ most recent signing class, the 6-foot-9, 240-pound forward tweeted Tuesday that his appeal of the rule was denied before announcing Wednesday he received his official release.
“Just finished my release papers so now open to talk to coaches and take visits,” Coger tweeted.
Coger averaged 12.2 points and seven rebounds at Cape Fear Community College this past season, but the SEC and ACC each require junior college transfers to be enrolled at their school full-time for at least three consecutive semesters, something Coger wasn’t. Coger, a native of Raleigh, North Carolina, played his freshman season at Eastern Florida State College before transferring to Cape Fear and redshirting last season.
Coger’s release leaves the Rebels with one less post player for the upcoming season. Sebastian Saiz and Marcanvis Hymon return to anchor the Rebels on the interior while junior college signee Justas Furmanavicius and incoming freshmen Karlis Silins and Nate Morris will add depth. Ole Miss also inked Drake transfer Dominik Olejniczak during the late signing period, though the 7-footer will sit out the upcoming season per NCAA transfer rules and have three years of eligibility beginning with the 2017-18 campaign.
It’s unclear whether Ole Miss will try to sign another player with a scholarship now available. Head coach Andy Kennedy is scheduled to speak with reporters on the SEC coaches summer teleconference Monday.
St. Joseph High (New Jersey) guard Breein Tyree and guard Cullen Neal, a graduate transfer from New Mexico, join Furmanavicius, Morris, Silins and Olejniczak as members of Ole Miss’ incoming class.