ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. – St. Bonaventure men's basketball head coach Mark Schmidt has announced the first new addition to the 2022 Bonnies recruiting class as 6-foot-8 wing Barry Evans signed a National Letter of Intent to join the program this coming summer.

"Barry can play multiple positions and he has a very high basketball IQ," Schmidt said. "He's an open court type of player who has a huge upside and we're thrilled to have him join our family. He has the potential to be an impact player on our team next year."

Evans is currently playing as a postgrad on the Putnam Science Academy (PSA) prep squad in Connecticut. He is a starter for the national championship-winning program, helping Putnam to wins in its first three games of the year while averaging 13 points, seven rebounds and six assists per game in the early going of the 2021-22 season.

A native of Baltimore, he played high school basketball at Oakland Mills and Baltimore Poly. He earned a spot on the Baltimore Sun All-County First Team in 2020 before last year's Baltimore City Public School season was wiped out due to the pandemic. He previously received All-District First Team accolades as a junior at Oakland Mills, helping his squad to the state playoffs.

"Barry can do a lot of things really, really well," Putnam coach Tom Espinosa said. "He can play anywhere on the wing, and I can see him playing the 5-spot for us when we go small. He can defend any position. He can rebound, push it up the floor himself, and pull up and hit a 3-pointer. He can get to the rim and find the open man. We haven't had many guys like Barry."

The Bonnies have had great success with Putnam products recently. Current seniors and All-Atlantic 10 standouts Kyle Lofton and Osun Osunniyi both previously wore the PSA Mustang colors, helping Putnam to a national prep championship together before attending St. Bonaventure.

"I talked to Kyle and I talked to Osun when I was up there," Evans said in a press release from PSA. "They said that St. Bonaventure is built around underrated people and I felt that I was underrated too. When I got there it felt like a family and where I belonged. I glued with the guys real well. We connected and it felt like I knew them, same as with here at Putnam. I just felt it, really. My mom felt it, my dad felt it. They're the closest people to me and if I'm feeling it too, why not make that decision."

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