Rock Hill, S.C. – Winthrop head men's basketball coach Pat Kelsey announced Wednesday afternoon the signing of three recruits in the class of 2021.
 
"I couldn't be more excited about these three young men joining our program," said Kelsey, who is in his 9^th season with the Eagles. "All three can be impact players here. They are high character guys that excel in the classroom and on the court. To thrive here, you must be a tough competitor, love basketball and be about TEAM over ME. It's the Winthrop Way. These three young men are exactly that."
 
Ben Burnham is a 6'7" forward from Carmel Christian High School in Charlotte, N.C. Burnham is a Ft. Mill South Carolina native and becomes the fourth South Carolina recruit to sign with the Eagles in the last two years. Last season he averaged 15.1 points, 10.1 rebounds, 2.2 blocks while shooting 62 percent from the floor. Burnham earned NCISAA All-State honors in North Carolina in 2020 and helped lead his team to a 22-6 record while playing one of the toughest schedules in the state.
 
Kelsey's Thoughts On Ben Burnham:
"Ben Burnham is a versatile forward that effects the game in multiple ways. His skill level is high as he can handle, pass and shoot it effectively. There is also a tough and rugged side to his game with his ability to rebound and block shots. He comes from elite programs both at the high school and AAU level."
 
Ben Knostman is a 6'5" point guard from Tippecanoe High School in Tippecanoe, Ohio. He follows in a long line of Ohio recruits that have played at Winthrop in recent years such as the 2017 BSC Player of the year Keon Johnson as well as Josh Davenport, Josh Corbin, Mitchell Hill and Hunter Sadlon.  Knostman averaged 15.4 ppg, 6.2 assists and 7.3 rebounds while shooting 54 percent from the field and had three triple doubles as a junior. Knostman led his team to their first league title in 12 years as a junior and was named First Team All-Conference, First Team All-District and the 2020 Miami Valley League Player of the Year.
 
Kelsey's Thoughts On Ben Knostman:
"Ben Knostman is a Chandler Vaudrin-type point guard in that he has great size, length and a super high basketball IQ. I love his ability to pass the ball and how he makes people around him better. He stuffs the stat sheet. Ohio is my home state and it is important for me to keep that pipeline running."
 
Reyne Smith is the third Winthrop Eagle to come from Australia's Centre of Excellence at the Australian Institute of sport. Xavier Cooks and Kyle Zunic are both alums of the famous Aussie basketball academy. Smith is a 6'2" combo guard from Ulverstone, Tazmania who has played at the highest level of International competition. He represented Australia in the 2019 FIBA Oceania Championships where he averaged 11.6 ppg while shooting 52% from the field. In the 2020 Under 20 Australian National Championships while representing his home territory of Tazmania, he averaged 20.7 ppg while shooting 49.9 percent from three and 88 percent from the free throw line.
 
Kelsey's Thoughts On Reyne Smith:
"Xavier Cooks started our Aussie pipeline and the success that he and Kyle Zunic have had here have paved the way for Reyne. I don't want to put too much pressure on him but I feel he could be Winthrop's next great Australian. He shoots the ball at a world class level but he is also a very good playmaker. He has the ability to play on or off the ball. Reyne has Kyle Zunic-level toughness which as Winthrop fans know, is ridiculously high praise."