Angelo State Rams Add 5 More Players to Signing Class

SAN ANGELO, TX — Angelo State men's basketball head coach Vinay Patel has finalized the 2025-26 signing class with five additions to next season's roster.

The first signing is Zyon Little, a Dickinson, Texas product, who joins the Rams from fellow Lone Star Conference school Texas A&M-Kingsville. A 6-foot-6 junior forward, Little averaged 9.3 points and four rebounds per game, starting 25 of 28 games this past season for the Javelinas.

"We are thrilled to add Zyon to our roster for the upcoming year. He brings some much-needed experience in the LSC to our team," said Patel. "We have seen him have big games in our league and know he will help our other guys understand how deep and talented our conference is."

Little, who scored a career-high 20 points twice last season, led the Javelinas in 3-pointers.

"Zyon is a very versatile forward and can score inside and out," said Patel. "He has proven to be able to defend multiple positions, and we are excited about the different ways we are going to use him on the floor."

The next signing is senior guard Jordan Crawford, a 6-foot-3 guard, who joins the Rams after three seasons at Division I Louisiana Tech.

"Jordan helped fill a huge need in our program. He has been extremely well coached these past three years and is an absolute winner," exclaimed Patel. "Jordan is a pass-first point guard who can make everyone around him better."

Crawford averaged 3.1 points and 2.7 rebounds at Louisiana. As a freshman, the Ruston, Louisiana native was named to the Conference USA All-Freshman Team and was one of 19 freshmen in the country to record 95 assists and 35 steals. As a sophomore, Crawford scored a career-high 25 points against Western Kentucky.

"We always try to find tough-minded players at his position that possess leadership qualities.  He is the type of player who makes the right play," said Patel. "He is a big point guard that should be able to have an impact on both ends of the floor this upcoming year."

The third signing is 6-foot-7 forward Jaqai Murray. a transfer from Division I North Carolina Central, who averaged 6 points and 4.5 rebounds per game while shooting 51.4% from the field.

"Jaqai is going to make an immediate impact on our front line," said Patel. "His physicality should translate very well into the LSC, and he has proven to rebound at a high level at multiple stops in his career."

Murray scored a career-high 16 points against Morgan State on Jan. 7. Before NCCU, Murray played two seasons at Coahoma CC. As a sophomore at Coahoma, Murray averaged 18 points and 10.8 rebounds per game, and he was named to the All-MACCC Second Team.

"Jaqai has a very unique skill set for a forward that should allow us to create mismatches offensively," said Patel. "Throughout his career, he has shown the ability to score the basketball in a variety of ways. We are excited about the toughness that he will bring to our program this upcoming season."

The next signing is 6-foot-2 junior combo guard Quadir Pettaway. Originally from Newport News, Virginia, Pettaway joins the Rams from Division I Presbyterian College.

"We were excited to add a player as dynamic as Quadir to our roster," said Patel. "He is a combo guard that can really shoot the basketball but has proven to be able to score at three levels."

Pettaway averaged 3.5 points and 1.2 assists per game to help the Blue Hose earn a postseason bid to the College Basketball Invitational (CBI). Pettaway scored a career-high 18 points against Longwood on Feb. 15, 2025, and in his prep career, Pettaway was named to ESPN's top-50 point guards list as a senior at Woodside HS.

"We are going to play him in multiple positions because of his ability to handle the ball, pass, and score," said Patel. "As a staff, we believe that he has a chance to be good on both ends of the floor. Quadir has an infectious personality and plays with a lot of energy. There is no doubt his best basketball is ahead of him." 

The Rams' final signing is 6-foot-0 junior combo guard Kailon Nicholls. A product of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Nicholls averaged 5.4 points and 1.5 assists for Division I Northern Illinois, where he scored in double figures nine times for the Huskies.

"Kailon was a very late addition to our program. We are very fortunate to add a player of his caliber to our roster," said Patel. "He comes from a great basketball background and played at one of the top prep schools in the country."

As a freshman, Nicholls appeared in nine games for Division I Duquesne, helping them reach the NCAA Tournament. In his prep career, Nicholls attended Hargrave Military Academy, where he averaged 16.9 points, 5.9 assists, and 2.3 steals per game as they went 44-2 overall.

"He has also been a part of the NCAA Tournament, and brings a wealth of experience to our backcourt. Kailon is a very quick guard who can get by people and either score or create for others," said Patel. "It was evident that winning was very important to Kailon in the recruitment process, which made us feel he was the perfect fit as we finalized our recruiting class."