WEST PLAINS, Mo. – Coaches with Missouri State University-West Plains’ Grizzly Basketball team have tapped the Great Northwest for another recruit for the upcoming season.

Head coach Yancey Walker reports Keaton Jackson, a 6-foot, 9-inch forward from Prairie High School in Vancouver, Wash., has signed a national letter of intent to play for the Grizzlies.

“Keaton is another under-recruited player from the northwest United States.  He is a skilled big man who can defend both the four and the five,” Walker said.  “He has a nice touch from outside, but he also is efficient in the post.  He has the tools to be a special player with the right work ethic.”

Last season, Jackson averaged 17 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks per game for the Falcons.  He earned first-team all-league honors and was an honorable mention all-region honoree.  He also was named MVP of the Les Schwab Roundball Shoot-Out, where he recorded the first ever triple-double in this annual all-star game with 25 points, 19 rebounds and 13 blocks.
“He definitely will give us some of the size that we’ve been needing,” Walker added.

Jackson earned other honors during his career at Prairie High School.  In 2009, he was an honorable mention honoree in the Great St. Helens League, and in 2010, he earned first-team honors in the same league for his averages of 16.8 points and 10.2 rebounds per game during the year.

Jackson will join fellow Grizzly Basketball newcomers Christian Leach, a 6-foot, 3-inch guard from Washington, D.C.; Joe Northington, a 6-foot, 1-inch guard from West Memphis, Ark.; Chris Gayot, a 5-foot, 11-inch point guard from Farrockaway, N.Y.; Miles Gatewood, a 6-foot, 1-inch guard from Portland, Ore.; and Kervin Rameau, a 6-foot, 5-inch wing from Brooklyn, N.Y., who played for Shenandoah Valley Christian Academy in Stephens City, Va.

Returning sophomores include Marin Petric, a 6-foot, 6-inch wing from Zagreb, Croatia; Gage Wooten, a 6-foot, 4-inch wing from Centennial, Colo.; Jordan Clennon, a 6-foot guard from Brampton, Ontario, Canada; Nathane Simniok, a 6-foot, 6-inch forward from Forsyth, Mo.; and Farbod Farman, a 6-foot, 10-inch forward from Mashhad, Khorasan Razavik, Iran; as well as redshirt freshmen Kevin Nelson, a 6-foot, 1-inch guard from Albuquerque, N.M.; and Jourdan Devoll, a 6-foot, 1-inch guard from Columbus, Ohio.

For more information about the Grizzly Basketball program, visit the team’s website at http://www.wp.missouristate.edu/grizzly/bb.htm or call the Grizzly Basketball office at 417-255-7993.