ATLANTA -- Georgia State head coach Jonas Hayes announced the addition of 10 student-athletes for the 2024-25 season, including seven transfers and three high school prospects.
 
Hayes and his staff have bolstered the roster with size, skill and experience via the transfer portal adding front court players in 6-9 Cesare Edwards (Missouri State), 6-8 Nick McMullen (UNC Asheville) and 6-7 Justin Archer (Radford), along with 6-7 wing Zarique Nutter (Northern Illinois) and guards Jelani Hamilton (Iowa State), Darnell Evans (Caldwell) and Malachi Brown (Seton Hall).
 
Hamilton (Wheeler High School) and Brown (Buford High School) are former prep standouts in the Atlanta area who captured Georgia state titles.
 
The Panthers have also added three talented high school signees in 6-10 forward Dennis Scott III from Atlanta and Mount Vernon Presbyterian, 6-9 forward Clash Peters from Word of God Christian in Raleigh, N.C., and 6-3 guard Jason Jackson, a native of Sarasota, Fla., who played locally at Overtime Elite.
 
"Our staff did a tremendous job in putting this class together, and we are thrilled to welcome these outstanding young men to Georgia State University," Hayes said as he enters his third season at the helm.
 
"Now more than ever, recruiting is a full-time job," Hayes continued. "We know what it takes to compete in the Sun Belt Conference, and our coaches were very intentional in identifying and recruiting those types of players in the portal as well as in the high school ranks.
 
"We can't wait to get on the court with this group and start molding the 2024-25 Georgia State Panthers."
  
 
JUSTIN ARCHER
Forward | 6-7, 205 | New Brunswick, N.J. (Trinity Pawling/Radford)
 
AT GEORGIA STATE: Graduate transfer who comes to GSU after two seasons at Radford, where he averaged 8.1 points and 7.5 rebounds while shooting 66.9 percent from the field over 64 games.
 
BEFORE GSU: Leading rebounder at Radford in 2023-24 with 7.9 per game, which ranked third in the Big South ... His average of 3.25 offensive rebounds was second in the conference and No. 32 in Division I ... Averaged 8.6 points while starting all 32 games ... Shot 70.5 percent from the field (110-for-156) ... Ended the season with back-to-back double-doubles in the Big South tourney, including career highs of 21 points and 14 rebounds vs. USC Upstate ... Had 14 points and seven rebounds vs. James Madison.
 
In 2022-23, he averaged 7.7 points and 7.0 rebounds in 32 games, including 25 starts ... Fourth in the Big South in rebounding ... Ranked No. 22 in Division I with 3.34 offensive rebounds per game ... Had 10 or more rebounds in 10 games with four double-doubles ... Season-high 18 points on 8-for-9 shooting vs. High Point.
 
Played two seasons at the junior college level before going to Radford ... Played at Florida Southwestern State as a sophomore in 2022-23, where he played in 17 games and averaged 6.3 points and 4.1 rebounds while shooting 65.6 percent from the field ... Career-high 27 points on 13-for-14 shooting vs. Victory Rock Prep ... 2021 NJCAA honorable mention All-American as a freshman 2020-21 at Vincennes, where he averaged 11.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game ... Four-year letterwinner at Trinity Pawling High School.
 
MALACHI BROWN
Guard | 6-1, 165 | Buford, Ga. (Legacy Early College/Seton Hall) 
 
AT GEORGIA STATE: Returns to the Atlanta area to join the GSU program after one season at Seton Hall ... Has three seasons of eligibility at GSU ... Led Buford High School to 2022 state title.
 
BEFORE GSU: Played 18 games off the bench as a freshman at Seton Hall, helping the Pirates win the 2024 NIT championship ... Season-high 10 points vs. UAlbany ... Added five points vs. Monmouth and four vs. FDU ... Had two points and two assists vs. No. 14 Marquette.
 
HIGH SCHOOL: Led Buford High School to the Class 6A state championship in 2022 ... Finished in the top five in the conference in assists ... Completed his prep career at Legacy Early College (S.C.), where he averaged 22.6 points, 4.0 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game in 2022-23. 
 
CESARE EDWARDS
Forward | 6-9, 225 | Hartsville, S.C. (Hartsville/Missouri State)
 
AT GEORGIA STATE: Experienced frontcourt player who joins the GSU program for the 2024-25 season ... Spent the 2023-24 season at Missouri State after two years at Xavier.
 
BEFORE GSU: Played in 33 games, including seven starts, at Missouri State in 2023-24 ... Averaged 7.2 points and 4.8 rebounds while playing 18 minutes per game ... Shot 47 percent from the field and 79 percent at the free throw line.... Posted a career-high 25 points on 11 FG against UNI ... Notched a career-high 11 rebounds at Valparaiso ... Played his first two seasons at Xavier, where he averaged 2.2 points and 4.4 rebounds in 2022-23, when he helped the Musketeers to a 27-10 record and a berth in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 ... Played in 23 games, including the last 16 contests of the season ... Shot 56.4 percent from the field ... Season highs of seven points vs. Depaul and six rebounds vs. Marquette in the Big East Championship Game ... Averaged 2.1 points and 1.4 rebounds with a .520 field goal percentage in 15 games in 2021-22 ... Season-high eight points at Seton Hall.
 
HIGH SCHOOL: Averaged 17.2 points, 15.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 3.0 blocks per game as a senior in 2020-21 at Hartsville (S.C.) High ... Earned 4A all-state honors from the SCBA and was named Region Co-Player of the Year as a senior ... Selected to play in the North-South All-Star Game and was a McDonalds All-American nominee ... Four-star recruit who was ranked No. 87 nationally by 247Sports ... Averaged 15.5 points, 12.7 rebounds, 2.6 blocks and 1.3 assists as a junior ... Scored over 1,000 career points and grabbed over 800 career rebounds.
 
DARNELL EVANS
Guard | 6-0, 165 | Amityville, N.Y. (Amityville/Caldwell)
 
AT GEORGIA STATE: Prolific scorer who joins the GSU program after two seasons at Division II Caldwell (N.J.) University, where he was a two-time, first-team All-Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference selection ... Averaged 21 points, along with 4.9 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.1 steals per game in two seasons at Caldwell.
 
BEFORE GSU: The No. 5 scorer in Division II in 2023-24 with 23.5 points per game ... Also averaged 4.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.2 steals (No. 12 in DII) ... Ranked in the top 10 in the nation with 180 free throws made and 238 attempts (75.6 percent) ... First-team All-CACC for the second straight year ... Four-time CACC Player of the Week ... Notched a career-high 42 points at American International College and matched his career best with 10 assists to go with 22 points and seven rebounds vs. Wilmington.
 
As a freshman at Caldwell in 2022-23, he was named first-team All-CACC, CACC Rookie of the Year, six-time CACC Rookie of the Week and two-time Player of the Week ... D2Hoops.com Rookie of the Year ... Averaged 18.8 points (2nd in conference) and 3.8 assists per game while helping Caldwell reach the NCAA East Regional ... Scored 20-plus points in 14 games, including three with 30 or more points ... Career-high 24 points vs. Wilmington in the CACC Tournament ... Had 10 assists, another caree high, vs. Wilmington in the regular season ... Two-time CACC Player of the Week.
 
HIGH SCHOOL: Third-team All-New York State, First-team All Long Island and First-team All-Suffolk County at Amityville High School ... Averaged 22 points, 12 assists and six steals per game... Leading scorer for playoffs, averaging 30.1 PPG... Class A Champion... Class ABCD Champion... Suffolk County Champion.
 
JELANI HAMILTON
Guard | 6-5, 195 | Marietta, Ga. (Wheeler/Iowa State)
 
AT GEORGIA STATE: Former prep standout at local powerhouse Wheeler High School who returns to Atlanta after one season at Iowa State, where he took a redshirt year in 2023-24 ... Has four seasons of eligibility remaining.
 
HIGH SCHOOL: Four-star prep prospect by Rivals, which ranked him No. 111 overall ... Earned a three-star rating from ESPN and 247Sports ... Played his senior season at Wheeler High School, which he helped to the 2023 Class 7A state championship ... Before Wheeler, he attended Cumberland Christian Academy. 
 
JASON JACKSON
Guard | 6-3, 180 | Sarasota, Fla. (Overtime Elite)
 
Combo guard who spent the 2023-24 season playing for Atlanta-based Overtime Elite ... Previously played at Riverview High School in Sarasota, Fla. 
 
 
NICK McMULLEN
Forward | 6-8, 237 | Greensboro, N.C. (Ben L. Smith/UNC Asheville)
 
AT GEORGIA STATE: Experienced frontcourt player who joins the GSU program after two seasons at UNC Asheville, highlighted by an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2022-23.
 
BEFORE GSU: Averaged 9.0 points and 4.1 rebounds in two seasons (69 games) at UNC Asheville while shooting 57.9 percent from the field ... Played in 34 games with 24 starts in 2023-24, when he was the Bulldogs second-leading rebounder (5.0 per game) and fourth-leading scorer (9.9 ppg) ... Shot 60 percent from the field ... Helped UNC Asheville win Big South Conference title and earn berth in NCAA Tournament in 2022-23, when he averaged 8.0 points and 5.0 rebounds and shot 55.9 percent from the field ... Season-high 20 points with 10 rebounds vs. South Carolina State ... Had eight points and 10 rebounds vs. UCLA in the NCAA Tournament.
 
Spent his first two seasons at Murray State ... Started 34 games as a sophomore in 2021-22 and averaged 3.2 points and 2.9 rebounds ... Season highs of 12 points vs. and 10 rebounds vs. Tennessee Wesleyan ... Played in 22 games as a freshman in 2020-21, averaging 1.6 points and 1.6 rebounds ... Scored 16 points vs. Greenville in his collegiate debut.
 
HIGH SCHOOL: Named to the 3A All-State First Team by the North Carolina Basketball Coaches Association as a senior at Ben L. Smith High School in 2019-20 ... Averaged 15.5 points and 9.9 rebounds per game ... Earned All-Piedmont Triad 3A Conference honors ... Four-year letterwinner for coach Derrick Partee... In 2019-20 as a senior, averaged 15.5 points per game to go with 9.9 rebounds per game.
 
ZARIQUE NUTTER
Wing | 6-7, 200 | Newark, N.J. (The Patrick School/Northern Illinois)
 
AT GEORGIA STATE: Talented wing joining the program as a transfer from Northern Illinois, where he averaged 13.7 points and 5.2 rebounds over the last two seasons.
 
BEFORE GSU: Second-leading scorer at NIU, averaging 15.4 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 2023-24 ... Improved to 16.3 ppg and 6.9 rpg over his final seven games ... Started the first 22 games of the season, scoring in double figures 18 times ... Shot 47.4 percent from the field ... Career-high 24 points vs. Ohio ... Recorded back-to-back double-doubles with 15 points and 10 rebounds at South Alabama followed by 17 points and 12 rebounds vs. Buffalo.
 
At NIU in 2022-23, he started all 31 games, averaging 12.5 points and 4.8 rebounds per game … Shot 42.6 percent (145-of-340) from the field and 62 percent (75-of-121) from the free-throw line … Averaged 14.1 points per game in conference play, 14th in the MAC … Double-double with 18 points and a season-best 15 rebounds at Georgia Tech … Scored in double figures 22 times, including three games of 20-plus points … Season-high 22 points against Central Michigan.
 
Began his career with two seasons at Clarendon College ... Averaged 19.9 points, 8.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists while shooting 54.4 percent from the field as a sophomore in 2021-22 ... Western Junior College Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year in 2020-21, when he averaged 15.8 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists with a 55.9 field goal percentage ... Prepped at The Patrick School (N.J.). 
 
CLASH PETERS
Forward | 6-9, 226 | Raleigh, N.C. (Word of God Christian)
 
Talented freshman big man with good size and skills ... Also played football as a tight end and defensive end ... Nephew of former Duke and NBA Power Forward Cherokee Parks.
 
DENNIS "TREY" SCOTT III
Forward | 6-10, 225 | Atlanta, Ga. (Mount Vernon Presbyterian)
 
Talented high school prospect who combines a 6-10, 230-pound frame with outstanding shooting ability ... All-state selection at Mount Vernon Presbyterian in the Atlanta area, which he helped to the 2024 Class A state title ... Averaged 12 points, seven rebounds and one block per game ... Selected to play in the 50th Annual Capitol Classic all-star game ... Son of long-time NBA sharp-shooter Dennis Scott, who starred in college at Georgia Tech and is currently a television commentator.