LAS CRUCES, N.M. – With a couple of weeks under his belt, Head Coach Jason Hooten has begun to lay the foundation for the future of Aggie basketball. The newest leader has announced the hiring of three assistant coaches and now he has started to build the 2023-24 roster.
Thursday afternoon, 6-4 guard Jaden Harris signed a National Letter of Intent to play for Coach Hooten and the Aggies this upcoming fall, becoming the first student-athlete to sign with the Aggies under the new leadership.
Jaden Harris | Jr. | G | 6-4 | Atlanta, Ga. | South Plains College | Norcross HS
- Played two seasons at South Plains College, one of the top junior colleges in the country. Finished second on the team in scoring in his final season with the program – averaging 15.3 points per game while shooting over 40% from the field. Harris also concluded the season averaging 3.5 rebounds per game and 2.6 assists per game in addition to shooting 77.3% from the charity stripe.
- Was one of the Texans' leaders in 2022-23 as he found himself in the starting lineup a team-high 28 times while averaging 31.1 minutes per game to rank second a team that finished the season ranked 22nd in the NJCAA DI Men's Basketball rankings after posting a 22-9 overall record and a 10-6 mark in conference play.
- Paced the Texans in made threes per game in his final season, making 1.7 per game while connecting at a 37.9% clip. Harris' numbers from beyond the arc only improved once SPC reached conference play as the lengthy guard drained 1.9 triples per game and improved his three-point shooting percentage to 43.1%.
- Harris scored in double figures in 23 of the 31 games he appeared in, including posting a career-high 28 points on Jan. 9 in a win over New Mexico Military Institute. He also finished as the Texans' leading scorer on 11 occasions, including posting a team-high 23 points off the bench in the regular season finale.
- In his debut season with the Texans, Harris appeared in all 33 games and started 19 contests. He averaged 6.7 points per game, pulled down 2.6 boards per game, turned in 1.4 assists per game and shot over 80% from the free throw line. On the season, Harris finished with double digits in the scoring column eight times, including five of the final eight games.
- In 2021-22, Harris helped lead South Plains College to a 21-12 overall record and an 11-5 record in league play as the Texans went on to reach the Sweet 16 of the NJCAA Men's Basketball National Tournament.
- Before reaching the collegiate level, Harris played at Norcross High School in Macon, Ga., where he was an all-county selection in his senior season.
- Following his standout season at South Plains College, Harris also received an offer from East Tennessee State University before committing to play for the Aggies. Since his days at Norcross, he has also garnered interest from the likes of big-name programs including USC, Ole Miss, Georgia Tech and UAB.
QUOTABLE | HEAD COACH JASON HOOTEN
"Jaden is the first recruit that we've signed since arriving and we're excited to have him join the Aggie Family! His toughness, versatility, and winning ways are what made us feel he will be a great fit for our program. He has proven to be a stat stuffer and made a big jump offensively from his freshman to sophomore year while at South Plains. Jaden is an everyday guy, and the people of Las Cruces will love how hard he plays!"
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