DIVISION I TRANSFER AJANI KENNEDY JOINS SKYHAWK MEN’S HOOPS PROGRAM
7/9/2019 2:13:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MARTIN, Tenn. – University of Tennessee at Martin head men's basketball coach Anthony Stewart has announced the addition of Ajani Kennedy, a 6-8, 200-pound forward who has played his last two seasons at UC Riverside.
Per NCAA transfer guidelines, Kennedy will have to sit out the upcoming season but will be eligible as a junior for the 2020-21 campaign.
"Ajani is coming off a productive two-year career at a Division I institution," Stewart said. "He led the Big West Conference in three-point field goal percentage and came close to leading his team in rebounding last year as a sophomore. He has great size and length and he fits very well into the basketball culture we are building here at UT Martin."
Kennedy played in 22 contests – including four starts – at UC Riverside under head coach David Patrick in 2018-19, averaging 7.8 points and 4.7 rebounds in just 21.2 minutes per game. He connected on 50.8 percent (65-for-128) of his field goal tries, including a league-best 46.4 percent clip from three-point range (26-of-56). He led the Highlanders in scoring four times and paced the squad in rebounding on five different occasions.
The southpaw out of Moreno Valley, Calif. reached double-figures in the scoring column six times as a sophomore, including a career-best 22 points at Western Michigan on Dec. 30. Kennedy followed that with a double-double (18 points, career-high 11 rebounds) on Jan. 4 against Bethesda while also tossing in 19 points at UC Santa Barbara on Jan. 12.
Kennedy swished multiple three-pointers in eight different games in 2018-19, including a 4-of-6 effort in the aforementioned game at Western Michigan. He also provided a career-best five assists in addition to 13 points and six rebounds against Life Pacific on Dec. 19 while notching 15 points and nine rebounds in his first career start at Cal Poly on Jan. 23.
In 22 games as a freshman, Kennedy averaged 3.5 points and 1.5 rebounds in 10.0 minutes per contest. He shot 49.1 percent (26-of-53) from the floor while sinking 83.3 percent of his free throw attempts (20-for-24). He scored in double digits in four games, including a season-high 18 points (on a perfect 6-of-6 shooting) in 22 minutes against Portland State on Nov. 18.
Kennedy prepped at Rancho Verde High School, where he played under head coach Branden Baker. He helped lead the Mustangs to a 19-0 start during his senior campaign, as the squad eventually finished with a 28-4 record, an Inland Valley League title and a CIF championship. One of his best games of the season came against highly regarded Chino Hills, as he dropped 32 points on the perennial California powerhouse on Nov. 28, 2016. He took part in the Inland Sports All-Star Classic as a senior and was named second team all-league and second team All-CIF during the 2015-16 season.
Kennedy comes from an athletic background as his mother, Rena Burton, ran track at UC Riverside.
Photos courtesy of UC Riverside Athletics
Per NCAA transfer guidelines, Kennedy will have to sit out the upcoming season but will be eligible as a junior for the 2020-21 campaign.
"Ajani is coming off a productive two-year career at a Division I institution," Stewart said. "He led the Big West Conference in three-point field goal percentage and came close to leading his team in rebounding last year as a sophomore. He has great size and length and he fits very well into the basketball culture we are building here at UT Martin."
Kennedy played in 22 contests – including four starts – at UC Riverside under head coach David Patrick in 2018-19, averaging 7.8 points and 4.7 rebounds in just 21.2 minutes per game. He connected on 50.8 percent (65-for-128) of his field goal tries, including a league-best 46.4 percent clip from three-point range (26-of-56). He led the Highlanders in scoring four times and paced the squad in rebounding on five different occasions.
The southpaw out of Moreno Valley, Calif. reached double-figures in the scoring column six times as a sophomore, including a career-best 22 points at Western Michigan on Dec. 30. Kennedy followed that with a double-double (18 points, career-high 11 rebounds) on Jan. 4 against Bethesda while also tossing in 19 points at UC Santa Barbara on Jan. 12.
Kennedy swished multiple three-pointers in eight different games in 2018-19, including a 4-of-6 effort in the aforementioned game at Western Michigan. He also provided a career-best five assists in addition to 13 points and six rebounds against Life Pacific on Dec. 19 while notching 15 points and nine rebounds in his first career start at Cal Poly on Jan. 23.
In 22 games as a freshman, Kennedy averaged 3.5 points and 1.5 rebounds in 10.0 minutes per contest. He shot 49.1 percent (26-of-53) from the floor while sinking 83.3 percent of his free throw attempts (20-for-24). He scored in double digits in four games, including a season-high 18 points (on a perfect 6-of-6 shooting) in 22 minutes against Portland State on Nov. 18.
Kennedy prepped at Rancho Verde High School, where he played under head coach Branden Baker. He helped lead the Mustangs to a 19-0 start during his senior campaign, as the squad eventually finished with a 28-4 record, an Inland Valley League title and a CIF championship. One of his best games of the season came against highly regarded Chino Hills, as he dropped 32 points on the perennial California powerhouse on Nov. 28, 2016. He took part in the Inland Sports All-Star Classic as a senior and was named second team all-league and second team All-CIF during the 2015-16 season.
Kennedy comes from an athletic background as his mother, Rena Burton, ran track at UC Riverside.
Photos courtesy of UC Riverside Athletics
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