Memphis on Tuesday officially announced the signing of Kansas State transfer and Harlem, N.Y. native Nae’Qwan Tomlin.
Although he has officially joined the team and can practice, Tomlin is still awaiting his confirmation of graduation from Kansas State before competing for the Tigers in 2023-24, the school said in a release.
In his lone season at Kansas State, the 6-foot-10 forward played a pivotal role in leading the Wildcats to the Elite Eight in the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
Tomlin was one of four players to start all 36 games for Kansas State, averaging 10.4 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.0 block per game as a junior.
During the four-game March Madness run, he upped his numbers to 12.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks Montana State, Kentucky, Michigan State and Florida Atlantic.
Prior to arriving in Manhattan, Kansas, Tomlin played two seasons at Chipola (Fla.) College from 2020-22 and one season at Monroe Community College (2019-20) in Rochester, New York.
He was a 2022 NJCAA Honorable Mention All-American at Chipola after averaging 13.8 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. He led the Indians to a 30-6 record and a trip to the semifinals of the NJCAA National Tournament.
Tomlin, originally from Harlem, New York, has only played organized basketball for five years and didn’t play the sport in high school.
He only participated in casual games with friends until a three-inch growth spurt took him to 6-foot-10. He grew so much that he was never listed above 6-foot-8 in junior college.
Tomlin showcased enough skill to sign with Monroe Community College. Although he sat out his freshman season with a redshirt, he nearly averaged a double-double with 13.3 points and 8.8 rebounds in his first collegiate campaign.
While at Chipola, Tomlin played for current Memphis Director of Scouting Jordan VerHulst, who was an assistant coach for the Indians at the time.
He scored more than 1,000 points in his community college career at Monroe and Chipola on 54.2 percent shooting (410-756). He also added 508 rebounds and 123 blocked shots in 79 career games.
Tomlin was rated as the No 7 prospect on the 2022 JuCoRecruiting.com Top 100, while being considered among the top-5 JUCO forwards in the country by JUCO Weekly.
Memphis (7-2) gears up for a big game Saturday at home against No. 13 Clemson, one of only seven unbeaten teams remaining in the country. The all-Tiger brawl tips at 2 p.m. on ESPN+.
(Release via Memphis)
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