Jordan Hamm
After de-committing from Arizona State earlier this month, elite prep big Samme Yeanay did not have to go far to find his new home.
16.7 miles, to be exact.
On Thursday, Yeanay announced he would join GCU, adding to a wildly deep roster already in place.
π¦πππ‘ππ. Sammie Yeanay joins the Lopes as a top-100 player out of AZ Compass Prep. π€ pic.twitter.com/iciQITwVz2
β Grand Canyon Menβs Basketball (@GCU_MBB) June 13, 2024
The Lopes return WAC Player of the Year Tyon Grant-Foster, multi-year starter Ray Harrison, Collin Moore, Duke Brennan and LΓΆk Wur. They’ve added TCU forward JaKobe Coles, Louisville center Dennis Evans and WAC Freshman of the Year Makaih Williams from UT Arlington.
GCU also added Phoenix St. Mary’s point guard Styles Phipps and Austin Maurer from Oregon through their high school recruiting efforts.
Yeanay – who stands at 6-foot-8, 230 pounds – is rated th No. 90 player in the 2024 class according to 247Sports.
He had been a long-time commitment at Arizona State, which had multiple late additions to its class through the high school ranks including Jayden Quainance and Joson Sanon. Arizona State added multiple front court players through the portal as well including Basheer Jihad, BJ Freeman and Brandon Gardner.
247Sports’ director of scouting Adam Finkelstein had high praise for the Compass Prep standout:
Yeanay is a strong-bodied forward with a high-motor and physical style. Heβs competitive, powerful, runs the court, and plays hard on both ends of the floor. He came up the ranks as an undersized big man, who was physically mature at a young age and thus able to put up big numbers by overpowering people in the paint. As heβs gotten older, heβs expanded his game and become more versatile in the process. Heβs still a definite threat with his back to the basket, who understands how to get deep post position and has good footwork. He can also put a lot of pressure on the rim as a face-up driver who almost dares opposing defenders to get in his way with an aggressive downhill style. Heβs starting to extend his shooting touch away from the basket and has also shown some flashes of being an underrated passer in high-low action. Defensively, he can body-up and bang with bigger players on the block and has worked to improve his footspeed and lateral quickness when pulled to the perimeter. Yeanay is also an active rebounder on both ends of the floor.
Yeanay can help upfront for the Lopes as they look to repeat as WAC champions and as they transition to the West Coast Conference next summer.
