ODESSA, Texas – Head Men's Basketball Coach Kyle Tolin has announced the finishing touches on the 2024-25 Falcons signing class. In total, they will welcome seven new members to the family.
 
The classes first signing comes by way of the high school route. Tristan Lewis joins the program from Kennedale High School in Kennedale, Texas. The 5'10 incoming freshman played for a highly successful program going 29-5 in his senior year, while winning both the district and area championships. He averaged 21 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals per game. In his senior year he was named the district Most Valuable Player.
 
 "We really like both the incoming freshman we signed. Tristan is a good point guard. The first time I saw him play I knew we wanted to get him here to UTPB. He is a great kid and is going to help continue to build our culture in the right way. He is a hard worker who makes the right decisions and can shoot the ball."
 
The second player added from the high school ranks is Brady Watson from Trinity Christian HS in Lubbock, TX. The 6'4 wings arrives to the Permian Basin after a stellar senior season that saw him average 23.7 points, 8.2 rebounds, 4.7 assists per games for a Trinity Christian team that finished the year 27-5 and made it to the state semifinals after winning the state championship the year prior. Brady finished his two-year career at TCHS as a thousand-point scorer, making the all-district team both years, and winning the district player of the year in his senior season.  He finishes as a two-time district champion, area champion, and regional champion.

Coach Tolin commented on the exciting freshman, "Brady has a bright future here at UTPB. He is an athletic wing who has a lot of versatility on the court. We watched Brady throughout the season and the more we watched him the more we liked him. We saw him play one night where there were several high school guys that were going to play college basketball and felt like Brady continued to show he was the best one on the court."
 
The program's first of five transfers this off-season is from the east coast. Kyle Whippen is a 6'9, 210-pound versatile forward who hails from Washington, D.C. Kyle has played at three different schools in his career. Starting his time in college at Fairmont State University (NCAA D2), he won a conference tournament championship and made two national tournaments in his two years there. After that, he transferred to NCAA Division 2 Kutztown University in Pennsylvania, before landing at Shippensburg University (NCAA D2). At SU, Whippen played in 28 games, starting in 25 of them. He averaged 9 points per game as well as bringing in 8.4 rebounds per game while totaling 7 double-doubles on the season.

Coach Tolin had this to say about the 5^th year big man, "We are thrilled that Kyle decided to play his final season at UTPB. He is a skilled big who has a lot of versatility. We are excited about adding him to the team. He does a lot of little things that help your team win. He is all about winning and I know he will do what it takes to help our team win next year."
 
Another big man added to the roster with a plethora of experience is Dario Domingos from the country of Angola by way of three different institutions. The 6'7, 250-pound big man started his career at New Mexico Junior College for two years before spending the next two split between UT Arlington (NCAA D1), and Tarleton State (NCAA D1). Most recently at Tarleton State Dario appeared in 21 games, playing 6.3 minutes a game, averaging 2.9 points, and 1.7 rebounds per game. Coach Tolin first saw him play when he was in Junior College where he averaged 12 points and 6.9 rebounds per game that season.

Coach Tolin said this about Domingos, "I have loved Dario since the first time I saw him play years ago. He really fits the way we play. He is a great talent who is skilled and can really score the ball inside. Dario is a great kid, and we are expecting big things from him."
 
The backcourt was an area of focus for the Falcons Coaching Staff this summer, and they addressed one of those needs in the form of Sharrod Taylor from Youngstown, OH. Taylor is a 6'2 guard who most recently played for Ranger College in Ranger, TX. Previously playing at NCAA Division 1 Institution Lindenwood University. At Ranger, Taylor averaged 8 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 2 assists per game while shooting 44.3% from distance.
 
 "We think Sharrod is a great fit for our returners and new guys we have signed". Coach Tolin says, "He can play on and off the ball. He is unselfish and has a high basketball IQ. He can really shoot the ball and has Division I experience like Bryceson and Dario."
 
Joining Taylor in the backcourt is Freddie Word. Word joins the Falcons after playing a injury shortened season at the University of Charleston (NCAA D2). Freddie most recently played a full season for Glenville State University (NCAA D2). In his one season with the Pioneers, Word proved to be a high-level player in the Mountain East Conference. The 6'1 guard from Fort Myers, Florida would go on to average 15.7 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 5.2 assists per game which would propel him to earning Second Team All-MEC honors. In addition to his all-conference honors, it should be noted that Word's 7.9 rebounds per game average was good enough to see him finish third overall in the conference in that category.
 
Coach Tolin added, "Freddie is a dynamic point guard that can do lots of things. He has put up good numbers at Glenville State and last year was on a team at University of Charleston that won 29 games and advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16. We are excited to get Freddie here and see him lead our team in a positive way."
 
The final member added to the Falcon family is Bryceson Burns. Bryceson is a 6'6 wing from Houston, Texas and will be coming to UTPB by way of Midland College. Burns averaged 7.8 points and 4 rebounds per game for a 20-10 Midland College team that plays in one of the toughest regions in the nation. Bryceson arrived at Midland College from Division 1 Drake University in the Missouri Valley Conference.

 "We are excited to add Bryceson to our team." said Tolin.  "We followed Bryceson all year long and got to see him play and practice several times throughout the season. We feel like we have a steal in him and know he is going to add an immediate impact to our team. He is versatile and can guard several different positions like a lot of our guys can."
 
Finally, Coach Tolin had this to say about this year's class as a whole "Our staff worked extremely hard to get the right pieces in with our returning players. We have a great core of guys back who all got better during the spring. Our program has the right people in it and our culture is headed the right way. We tried to bring in guys that fit with our returners. We really tried to find the right culture guys who can take our program to the next level on and off the court. Coach Graham and Coach Stout have done a fantastic job recruiting and building relationships with these guys. There is lots to be excited about in the UTPB basketball program."

The Falcons open their season in a Region Tip Off Challenge in Alamosa, Colorado where they will face hosts Adam State on November 8th, and Westminster University on the 9th. Their home opener will be on November 13th vs. Navajo Technical University.