Cleveland State claims top recruiting class in the Horizon League

The incoming recruiting class for the 2020-21 school year in men’s basketball has been rated number one in the Horizon League, tying with the University of Dayton. This men’s basketball recruiting class also ranks fourth in Ohio and 80 nationally in Division I basketball.

The Vikings are coming off 11- 21 season, finishing the regular season with seven league wins, claiming three consecutive wins and three straight non-conference wins. In mid-April of this year, head coach of the Vikings, Dennis Gates, announced the finalized list of six new Cleveland State recruits. The new list of recruits includes three students from junior colleges, two freshmen, and a preparatory school student. 

Jayson Woodrich, a prep school student and Beachwood, Ohio native, signed with the Vikings after playing at Scotland Campus in Pennsylvania. At Beachwood High School, Woodrich averaged 26 points per game and 9.8 rebounds his senior year. He earned Division III All-Ohio honors and claimed the Northeast Lakes All-District Player of the Year during the 2018-19 school year. Beachwood High School inducted him into the Beachwood Athletic Hall of Fame/Wall of Champions in late December of last year. 

Last November, the Vikings signed three transfer students Yahel Hill, Chris Greene, and D’Moi Hodge. Hill, a transfer student from Tallahassee Community College and Cleveland native, is returning to Cleveland following a 27-6 season with the Eagles. Hill also played a short stint with the West Liberty Hilltoppers during the 2018-19 season. 

Greene, a Virginia native comes to Cleveland from Beaver County Community College (CCBC) where he helped clinch a winning season record of 25-4. He averaged seven rebounds, and nearly two assists per game during his time at CCBC. Greene also played for one year at Wheeling Jesuit University in Wheeling, West Virginia. 

Hodge is coming off a season at the State College of Florida where he averaged 25.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5.1 assists. Hodge, a 6 foot 4 point guard, received Florida College System Activities Association (FCSAA) Region VIII Player of the Week four times during his stint at SCF, along with claiming a spot on the FCSAA and National Junior College Athletic Association All-State team during the 2019-20 school year. 

Gates only signed two incoming freshmen to the roster for the upcoming fall season. Mabor Majak and Alec Oglesby are two new additions to the Viking family. Majak hails from Hamilton Southeastern High School in Fishers, Indiana. Majak heads to Cleveland with several accolades, including Co-County Player of the Year, playing in the Indiana All-Star game, and securing third in the 2020 Indiana prospect rankings.

Oglesby, another freshmen addition to the Viking roster, played at The Rock School in Gainsville, Florida. Averaging 24 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists per game, the Florida senior spearheaded his team to win a Florida state title during the 2018-19 season. Oglesby said Cleveland State felt like the right place for him to continue his academic and athletic career.

“I felt a great connection with Coach Gates and the rest of the coaching staff along with the guys on the team,” Oglesby said. “I wanted to be able to be in a program where I could make a significant impact on and off the court.”