LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV men's basketball program received a signed commitment from David Jenkins Jr., head coach T.J. Otzelberger announced Saturday.
Jenkins is a transfer from South Dakota State, where he played as a freshman and sophomore under Otzelberger. He will enroll at UNLV this summer but must sit out the 2019-20 season because of NCAA transfer rules. He will be eligible to play in games for the Runnin' Rebels as a junior in 2020-21 and senior in 2021-22.
The fifth commitment at UNLV under Otzelberger, Jenkins Jr., a 6-foot-2-inch 200-pound guard, started all 32 of the Jackrabbits games in 2018-19, ranking second on the team in scoring with 19.7 points per contest. He shot 45.3 percent from 3-point range, making a program single-season record 112.
The NABC All-District 12 Second Team honoree also was recognized as a First Team All-Summit League member. In 2017-18, he was named the conference's Freshman of the Year and was also selected to the All-Newcomer team.
"I could not be more thrilled for the opportunity to continue coaching David," Otzelberger said. "He will quickly become a fan-favorite here in Las Vegas because of his personality and his competitive drive. David is a gifted scorer, a proven winner and a fantastic teammate. We look forward to seeing his game expand over this year before getting him out on the court in a Runnin' Rebel uniform the following season."
Jenkins Jr., originally from Tacoma, Washington, reached double figures in scoring this season 30 times, including 15 games of 20 or more points. In just two seasons at South Dakota State, he scored a total of 1,194 points. He set the school's freshman scoring record with 565 points, finishing eighth in the country in his class that season with 16.1 ppg.
Jenkins Jr. played one season at Sunrise Christian Academy prep school in Bel Aire, Kansas, before attending SDSU. He is a 2016 graduate of Wilson Senior High School in Tacoma, finishing his career as the school's all-time scoring leader with over 2,000 points. He averaged 28 points per game as a senior and also set the school's single-season scoring mark, including two 50-point efforts. He was selected first team all-state, all-area, all-county and all-city along with the area's most valuable player.
Jenkins Jr. took official visits to Gonzaga, Oregon and UNLV before signing with the Runnin' Rebels and also held offers from Arizona, Kansas, Memphis, Notre Dame, Ohio State, San Diego State, UCLA, UNR and Texas Tech, among others.
He joins
Jonah Antonio,
Moses Wood,
Elijah Mitrou-Long and
Vitaliy Shibel as part of the Runnin' Rebels' 2019 recruiting class.
SEASON TICKETS: Season tickets for the 2019-20 UNLV men's basketball campaign are on sale now. To purchase visit
UNLVtickets.com, call 702-739-FANS or visit the Thomas & Mack Center Box Office.
