Men’s Basketball Adds Four Transfers

MACON, Ga.— Mercer Men's Head Basketball Coach Greg Gary has announced the signing of four transfer student-athletes to complete his roster for the 2022-2023 season. "I am very excited about this group we signed in the spring," Coach Gary said. "We instantly added experience, athleticism and physicality. We are looking forward to meshing them together with our returners and incoming freshmen."

Nana Akenten
6-6 G/F
Bolingbrook, Illinois
University of Nebraska/Southeast Missouri State University

Coming out of Bolingbrook High School, Akenten was seventh in the Mr. Basketball voting in the state of Illinois and was named Player of the Year by the Joliet Herald News in 2017. He began his collegiate career at the University of Nebraska, playing in 28 games in 2018-2019, averaging 4.3 points and 2.5 rebounds per game while being one of the Huskers' first subs off the bench. Akenten redshirted during the 2019-20 season and, in 2020-21, started 24 of 27 games for Southeast Missouri State University. He ranked first on the team in rebounds (156), rebounds per game (5.8) and steals (34). He made 53 three-pointers, second-most on the team. He also held the best free throw percentage (.744) among the starters. Last season, he played in all 29 games for the Redhawks, averaging 18.9 minutes per game and 7.l points per game. For the season, he connected on 40 three-pointers, pulled down 123 rebounds, had 17 assists, 18 blocks and 19 steals.
Coach Gary on Akenten: "He has good size and strength for a wing. He can shoot the ball and can be a very good rebounder."

Jalen Cobb
6-1 Guard
Decatur, Georgia
Fordham University

After a successful high school career at Columbia in DeKalb County where he was named Class 5A South All-State, he attended Loomis Chaffee School in 2017-2018 where he helped lead the Pelicans to the 2018 Founders League Championship. At Fordham University, Cobb missed the 2021-2022 season with an injury. Prior to that, he was a three-year starter and led the 2020-2021 team in assists and steals. In his sophomore season in 2019-2020, he appeared in 30 games, averaged 10.3 points per game, 3.4 rebounds per game, and recorded 53 steals and 70 assists. He scored a career-high 22 points against both George Washington and Dayton. As a freshman in 2018-2019, while appearing in all 32 games, he averaged 10.1 points per game and 2.8 rebounds. Cobb had 71 assists, a team-high 46 steals, ranking eighth in the Atlantic 10 (1.4 steals/game).
Coach Gary on Cobb: "He has proven he can shoot the ball with range and score the ball. He is an excellent defender as well."

Jaylin McCreary
6-8 Forward
Marietta, Georgia
University of South Florida/University of South Carolina

McCreary was a high school standout at Legacy Early College where he averaged 18 points and six rebounds his senior season. He was named a USA Today South Carolina All-State Second Team honoree after helping his squad to a 34-5 overall record during his senior campaign. He scored 18 points to lead his team to the USA National Prep Tournament Championship. During his freshman season at the University of South Carolina in 2019-2020, he saw action in 27 games, averaging 4.1 points, 2.7 rebounds and 0.4 blocks in 11.5 minutes per outing. In his second season with the Gamecocks, McCreary played in 17 games, averaging 13.3 minutes per game. He averaged 4.5 points and 2.5 rebounds while shooting 48.7 percent from the floor. He scored in double-digits in his last three games of the season vs. Arkansas, Kentucky and Ole Miss. He made his first career start in the 2021 SEC Tournament and scored a career-high 15 points on 4-of-9 from the floor and 7-of-10 from the line vs. Ole Miss while adding three blocks. He transferred to the University of South Florida in May 2021 after playing in 44 games in two seasons at South Carolina. In 2021-2022, McCreary played in 16 games at USF, with two starts, and averaged 14.1 minutes a game. He shot 52.1 percent from the field, averaged 5.1 points and 3.0 rebounds per game and recording 12 blocks, seven assists and four steals. He had a season-high 14 points again Tulane.
Coach Gary on McCreary: "He gives us great versatility and athleticism at the forward spot. He plays with a lot of passion and toughness."

Luis Hurtado, Jr.
6-6 Guard/Forward
Merida, Venezuela
Bryant University/University of Alabama at Birmingham

Hurtado played high school basketball at The Sagemont School in Weston, Florida, where his team advanced to the FHSAA Class 4A regional finals as a senior in 2017 and the championship game in 2015. He began his collegiate career at UAB where he redshirted in 2017-2018 but was named to the C-USA Commissioner's Honor Roll. In 2018-2019, he appeared in six games. During his redshirt sophomore season in 2019-2020, he appeared in nine games off the bench for a 20-win UAB team. He returned to action Nov. 20 after finishing cancer treatment. He was the winner of UAB's Flame on Courage Award. In his redshirt junior season, he appeared in all 22 games, making 16 starts. He posted three double-figure scoring games and had 10 games of five-plus rebounds. In 2021-2022, Hurtado appeared in all 32 games, making 28 starts. He averaged. 4.4 points per game, 4.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 26.1 minutes. He finished second in the NEC in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.9. He saved his best basketball for the stretch run, scoring a career-high 14 points in Bryant's semifinal victory over Mount St. Mary's.
Coach Gary on Hurtado: "He has a high skill set along with size and a tremendous basketball IQ. He led his team to the NCAA tournament last year."

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Players Mentioned

Jalen Cobb

Luis Hurtado Jr.

Jalyn McCreary

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