April 19, 2018
Five versatile newcomers with a promising college future are joining the San Jose State University men's basketball program beginning with the 2018 fall semester.
Guard Zach Chappell, the 2018 Golden Empire League Most Valuable Player for Capital Christian High in Sacramento; guard Brae Ivey, a two-time first-team Orange Empire Conference choice for Riverside City College; 6-foot-9 forward Craig LeCesne, a San Bernardino Valley College transfer who played as a freshman at Pepperdine University; 6-foot-10 Michael Steadman from City College of San Francisco; and 6-foot-11 Samuel Japhet-Mathias, a transfer from Wake Forest University, signed with the Spartans according to head coach Jean Prioleau.
"All of these guys fit what we are looking for in terms of offense and defense. They are skilled, versatile and athletic players," said Prioleau who also is proud of the combination of in-state recruiting success and geographic diversity of the Spartan newcomers.
"We recruited most of these guys all year. We're going to build this program on the guys believing in what we're doing and the message we've been talking to them about."
Chapell was a two-time Sacramento Bee All-Metro selection earning first team honors as a senior and second-team recognition as a junior. He averaged 20.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game and had shooting averages of 55.2 percent from the field, 46.8 percent from three-point range and 88.8 percent from the free throw line as a senior. His teams were the 2017 and 2018 Golden Empire League champions.
Ivey averaged 18.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.7 assists last season for Riverside City College. At Edison High of Huntington Beach, Calif., he was a two-time first-team All-C.I.F. Southern Section Division I-A honoree and led the Chargers to 48 wins as a junior and a senior.
Japhet-Mathias played his first two seasons of college basketball for Wake Forest. He appeared in 23 games. As a high school prospect in London, England, he was ranked #90 overall by 247Sports. Japhet-Mathias will be eligible to see his first action as a Spartan in the 2019-20 season.
LeCesne (pronounced Le-sain) was a sophomore last season at San Bernardino Valley College, the 2018 Pacific Coast North Conference champion with a 27-5 overall win-loss record. He was third on the team in scoring at 11.0 points per game and second in rebounding at 5.8 per contest. At Pepperdine, LeCesne averaged 3.5 points and 2.7 rebounds in the 26 games he played during the 2017 season. The Swedish native played his high school basketball at St. James School in Hagerstown, Md. He played for his country in the 2013 U-16 European Championships.
Steadman was the starting center for the City College of San Francisco team that won the 2018 California Community College state championship. He averaged 8.9 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.5 blocked shots per game. Steadman played his high school basketball at nearby James Logan High in Union City, Calif.