LAS CRUCES, New Mexico (KTSM) – New Mexico State University men’s basketball head coach Jason Hooten and his staff continue to construct their squad for the upcoming 2023-24 college basketball season.

On Thursday, Hooten announced his latest signing: Jordan Rawls. The Western Kentucky transfer announced his commitment to NMSU on Wednesday via Twitter.

Rawls spent the 2022-23 season at Western Kentucky, a program that competes in Conference USA, the same conference NMSU will participate in this year.

Rawls is a 6’2” guard out of Chattanooga, Tennessee. Rawls played in 30 of WKU’s 33 games last year. As a senior, he averaged 20.1 minutes, scored 7.5 points and pulled in 1.3 rebounds per game during his second stint at WKU.

Ahead of his time at Western Kentucky, Rawls played in nine games for Georgia State – averaging 19.7 minutes, 5.2 points, 2.2 assists and 1.8 rebounds per game His time spent at Georgia State came on the heels of his first go around at Western Kentucky where he played from 2019-21.

“We’re very excited to add Jordan. He is another lead guard that can score the ball in a variety of ways, but also run a team at the top of C-USA. His experience and ability to break people down was what we were looking for,” NMSU head coach Jason Hooten said. “Jordan has the talent to improve his numbers with a greater opportunity, and we feel he will give us a chance to win right away.”

Rawls is the ninth player on NMSU men’s basketball roster for the 2023-24 season. Here’s a look at all the players that have signed to attend and play at New Mexico State University so far.

NMSU men’s basketball roster for 2023-24 season

(As of May 26, 2023)

Jordan Rawls (Senior | Guard | Georgia State, Western Kentucky)

Rawls played in 30 of WKU’s 33 games last year. As a senior, he averaged 20.1 minutes, scored 7.5 points and pulled in 1.3 rebounds per game during his second stint at WKU.

Femi Odukale (Senior | Guard | Pitt, Seton Hall)

Odukale is a 6’6 guard from Brooklyn, N.Y., He averaged 7.3 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.6 steals per game for the Pirates in 2022-23, while starting 32 of Seton Hall’s 33 games.

Kaosi Ezeagu (Grad student | Forward | UTEP, Kansas State, Sam Houston)

In his final season at Sam Houston, Ezeagu appeared in 33 of the Bearkats’ 34 games – starting all 33 contests while averaging 5.8 points and 3.8 rebounds to help Sam Houston tie a program-best record in wins with 26.

Brandon Suggs (Senior | Guard | East Carolina, UCF)

Suggs is a 6’6’’ guard who transferred from Central Florida. Suggs averaged 6.6 points and 3.2 rebounds per game in 32 appearances for the Knights last season. Prior to joining UCF, Suggs spent three years playing at ECU.

Jaylin Jackson-Posey (Junior | Guard | Stephen F. Austin)

Jackson-Posey comes to New Mexico State from former fellow WAC member school Stephen F. Austin. Jackson-Posey spent the last two seasons (2021-2023) at SFA. In the 2022-23 season, he appeared in 17 games and made seven starts. He averaged 6.7 points and 1.9 rebounds per game while shooting 41.7% from the field and 44.8% from beyond the arc. 

Jackson-Posey was named the 2021-22 WAC Sixth Man of the Year. Jackon-Posey played a key role in that SFA team that earned a share of the WAC regular season title along with NMSU that year.

Denijay Harris (Senior | Forward | Southwest Mississippi CC, Southern Miss)

Harris spent the last the seasons playing at Southern Miss in the Sun Belt Conference. In the 2022-23 season, Harris played in 28 total games and made 22 starts, including appearing in the starting lineup in each of the final 16 games of the season. He ended the season averaging a career-best 8.9 points and 5.7 boards per game. He helped lead Southern Miss earn a Sun Belt regular season title and an appearance in the 2023 NIT.

Jaden Harris (Junior | Guard | South Plains College)

Harris comes to New Mexico State University after spending the last two seasons playing at South Plains College. Harris averaged 15.3 points per game while shooting over 40% from the field, posted 3.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. The product out of Atlanta, Georgia appeared in the starting lineup a team-high 28 times while averaging 31.1 minutes per game to rank second on a team that finished the season ranked 22nd in the NJCAA DI Men’s Basketball final rankings.

Clarence “Monzy” Jackson (Senior | Forward | Polk State College / Wichita State / Jacksonville State)

Clarence “Monzy” Jackson comes to New Mexico State after spending the 2022-23 season at Jacksonville State. JSU is a Division I program and plays in the SWAC. Jackson averaged 7.2 points and 4.7 rebounds per game while appearing in 26 of the Gamecocks’ 31 games last season.

Keylon Dorsey (Freshman | Guard | Eisenhower High School)

Dorsey is a three-star recruit who is finishing up his senior year at Aldine Eisenhower High School in Houston, Texas. The 6’5’’ guard is ranked as the 42nd best shooting guard in the nation and the 28th ranked shooting guard in the entire state of Texas. 

Dorsey averaged 27.4 points while snaring 7.8 rebounds and dishing out 3.4 assists per game in his senior year at Aldine Eisenhower High School.

Dorsey originally committed and signed with Sam Houston State in Nov. 2022. Jason Hooten, who was the head coach at Sam Houston at the time, then took the head coaching job at New Mexico State in late March. On Apr. 5, Dorsey announced he would be decommitting from SHSU. The same exact date of Dorsey’s decommitment, he posted on Twitter that he received an offer from New Mexico State. After a visit to Las Cruces, Dorsey announced that he would be joining Hooten at NMSU.