Ole Miss Basketball: Chris Beard lands a pair of highly-rated recruits
Ole Miss Basketball coach Chris Beard has landed commitments from a pair of highly touted high school prospects to add to his list of newcomers for next season.
2022 was a dark year for Ole Miss Basketball. After a promising start in his first couple of seasons for head coach Kermit Davis, the Rebels took a step back this past year. They finished 12-21 on the year and 3-15 in the SEC. The downward trend of the basketball program led to Ole Miss deciding to make a change at the end of the year, and a splash hire was made in former Texas head coach Chris Beard.
Chris Beard has been hot on the recruiting trail since taking over in Oxford, both in the NCAA transfer portal and at the high school ranks. After landing three veterans in the transfer portal earlier in the offseason, Beard has now secured the commitments of two talented high school prospects.
The first of which is four-star prospect Rashaud Marshall, a 6’9, 215-pound center from Blytheville Arkansas. Marshall is ranked as the number one overall player in the state of Arkansas and the 15th overall player in the country at his position by 247Sports.
Marshall committed to Ole Miss previously last summer before then-head coach Kermit Davis was fired. Upon Davis’ firing, he decommitted but once again pledged his commitment to the Ole Miss basketball program when new head coach Chris Beard was hired.
He chose Ole Miss over other programs such as Kansas, Missouri, TCU, and Texas A&M among others. He is a consensus four-star prospect by all major recruiting outlets.
The next of the Rebels’ talented commits is 6’10, 210-pound power forward Cameron Barnes from Duncanville, Texas. Barnes is rated as the 17th overall player in the state and 36th at his position.
Hotty Toddy!! Let’s work! @OleMissMBB @CoachBeard @DuncanvilleBB @teamtraeyoungmb pic.twitter.com/238zA4Awhb
— Cameron Barnes (@CamEBarnes) May 1, 2023
As a multi-year starter for high school national powerhouse Duncanville, Barnes helped his team to a 6A state championship in 2021 and back-to-back MaxPreps National Championships.
Marshall and Barnes join transfer portal additions Jamarion Sharpe, Austin Nunez, and Brandon Murray that will enter Ole Miss as Chris Beard’s 2023 class, his first in Oxford.