THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — With a new coach at the helm, Cal Lutheran men's basketball has announced its 2019-20 squad which consists of six returners and 10 newcomers.
Head Coach Russell White is in his first year and takes the reigns of a young team with only one senior. The rest of the team is made up of two juniors, five sophomores, two of which are new to the program, and eight freshmen.
"We are excited to finally complete our roster after a few weeks of careful observation," White said. "Palmer Chaplin will have ample opportunities to display his leadership qualities with this team as the senior."
Chaplin, a guard, appeared in all 25 games for the Kingsmen last season. He scored 6.4 points per game, grabbed 4.2 rebounds and dished out 3.6 assists. He shot 40.9-percent from the field and 36.9 from three. He set career highs of 17 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.
CLU has two juniors that will help Palmer lead the team in Jarrett Powers and Cole Thomas. Both bring valuable playing experience that the younger Kingsmen can lean on. Powers played in 23 games and Thomas made 18 appearances. Powers had a season high 10 assists and Cole shot 63.6-percent from the field.
"With only 3 upper classmen on the roster, there will be numerous opportunities to grow and better during the season," White said. We need to embrace each one of them."
The sophomore class consists of Carlton Brown, Connor Cole, Charlie Lee, Brooks Mallory and Mike Shahan. Cole appeared in all 24 games as a freshman, but was sideline his sophomore year due to a season-ending injury. He is back to full-strength this year as he looks to build on a strong freshman campaign.
Lee got action in 13 games while Mallory is also coming back from an injury. Brown and Shahan will both make their Violet and Gold debuts this season.
The new freshmen for the Kingsmen include Gabe Barrios, Brandon Barron, Fernando Gomez, Lachlann Hanneman,Miles Houston, Michael Liborio, Logan McCullough and Calvin Phillips.
The freshman bring some height to the roster as Houston is 6 feet 8 inches while Barrios, McCullough and Phillips are all 6 foot 4.
Cal Lutheran will get their first action as a team on Friday as they travel to California Baptist for an exhibition at 7 p.m. The Kingsmen start the regular season next Thursday, Nov. 14, on the road and take on Whitworth at 7 p.m.
Roster: 2019-20 MBB
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Release by Ryan Jorgenson, Sports Information Director