Clayton Announces 2009 Signing Class

July 13, 2009

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. -- The Carson-Newman men's basketball team has signed eight players for the 2009-10 season, head coach Dale Clayton announced Monday.

In the class, the Eagles landed four high school seniors and three transfers.

Guard Trey Caruthers (Kingston Springs, Tenn.) joins the Eagles after a stellar career at Harpeth High School, where he led the Indians to a 95-36 record in four years. Caruthers was a three-time All-District Tournament and two-time All-District performer at Harpeth. As a senior, he earned District MVP and All-Region honors after averaging 19.7 points, 9.9 rebounds, three assists and 2.7 steals per contest.

Guard Tyler Cross (Jacksboro, Tenn.), a standout from Anderson County High School, averaged 15 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals per game as a senior, earning him All-District and All-Region accolades.

Forward Collin Crane (Knoxville, Tenn.) is standout from Karns High School, where he was a two-time All-District performer for the Beavers. Crane averaged 15 points, five rebounds and four assists per game for Karns as a senior.

Joe Meady (Strawberry Plains, Tenn.), a 6-8 center, earned All-Region honors last season after leading Carter High School to a 23-12 record and a first-ever state tournament berth.

The three transfers in the class are guard Cameron Hall (Atoka, Tenn.), guard/forward Erwin Staten (Huntsville, Ala.) and center Brandon Evans (Salem, Va.).

Hall averaged four points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game last season as a sophomore at Olney Central College. As a freshman for the Blue Knights, Hall averaged 9.1 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists per contest.

At Sound Doctrine Christian Academy in LaGrange, Ga., Hall was a two-time All-District and All-Region performer. He also was named Team and County Most Valuable Player.

Staten comes to Mossy Creek after playing two seasons at Jacksonville State University. Staten averaged 1.9 points and 0.7 rebounds in 33 games with the Gamecocks.

As a senior at J.O. Johnson High School in Huntsville, Ala., Staten earned All-City and All-Area honors after averaging 17 points and 4.7 rebounds per contest.

Evans transfers to C-N from Longwood University, where he averaged 2.3 points and 2.3 assists per contest and had 21 blocks as a sophomore.

As a senior at Roanoke Catholic High School, Evans averaged 10 points, 10 rebounds and six blocks per game to earn first team All-Conference, All-Region and Virginia Independent Schools All-State honors. Hall helped lead Roanoke Catholic to two state titles and a runner-up finish during his career.

C-N went 7-21 in 2008-09, including a 4-12 record in South Atlantic Conference play.