UConn announced the signings of guard Makai Ashton-Langford and forwards Tyler Polley and Josh Carlton.
“We are excited to add these three student-athletes to our UConn family,” head coach Kevin Ollie said. “They are people of high character as well as outstanding athletes.”
The 6-foot-2 Ashton-Langford, a guard from Worcester, Mass., is attending Brewster Academy (Wolfeboro, N.H.) this year after transferring from Cushing Academy (Ashburnham, Mass.). A consensus Top 40 recruit, Ashton-Langford played AAU ball for Mass Rivals, where he was a teammate for two years with current UConn sophomore Jalen Adams.
“Makai is a great point guard from the Boston area, where we’ve done a real good job recruiting in the last few years,” Ollie said. “He’s just a great kid. He’s got quickness, he’s explosive, and he can shoot the ball. And he’s with a great program at Brewster as he gets ready to come to UConn.”
Last season at Cushing Academy, Ashton-Langford averaged 22.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game as he helped Cushing win the AA New England Prep School Championship. He also led his Mass Rivals team to 21 straight victories and four tournament titles, including the Uprising Summer Championship in Las Vegas in July.
The 6-8 Polley is a forward from Weston, Fla., who attends The Sagemont School. A consensus Top 100 recruit, Polley is an honor roll student whose father, Tommy, was a standout linebacker at Florida State and spent five years in the NFL.
“Tyler is the type of long, athletic wing that we love,” Ollie said. “He can get out in transition and his mid-range game is great. He is working on his ballhandling so he can even be more versatile, but he can already play multiple positions. We’ve going to love having him at UConn.”
Polley averaged 16.2 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game last season for The Sagemont School and was named First Team All-Broward County.
The 6-9 Carlton is a forward who lives in Hyattsville, Md., and is part of the prestigious basketball program at DeMatha Catholic.
“Josh is a very skilled big man who reminds me of (sophomore) Steve Enoch a little bit, with his skill set,” Ollie said. “He really understands the game, coming from a great high school program at DeMatha. He’s well-coached. He’s going to come in and give us a great rebounding big who can play out on the perimeter also. He, also, is versatile and we want our guys to be versatile and have a great basketball IQ.”
After moving to Maryland from Winterville, N.C., Carlton helped DeMatha to a 33-5 record last year as he averaged 11.1 points, 11.7 rebounds, 3.2 blocks per game and shot 62 percent from the floor.
“Josh played his best in our biggest games,” said DeMatha coach Mike Jones. “He went through an adjustment, being new, but he has had a great spring, summer and fall. We are all looking forward to him having a dominant senior season as he prepares for UConn.”
(Release via UConn) Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter And like ZAGS on Facebook
(Release via UConn) Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter And like ZAGS on Facebook
