Two walk-ons fill out USU men’s hoops roster
Utah State men’s basketball head coach Craig Smith has capped a flurry of recruiting in recent weeks with the addition a pair of walk-ons: Matthew Wickizer and Karson Stastny, the latter being announced Friday in the early moments of the afternoon. The two additions are likely the final of the 2020-21 recruiting class.
Wickizer, who’s addition to the 2020-21 Aggie roster was officially announced on June 8, comes out of Kearns High School in Salt Lake County, Utah. The 6-foot-9 forward averaged 8.7 points and 4.8 rebounds his senior season in which Kearns went 20-4 and won the Region 2 title. In the final six games of the season, Wickizer averaged 14.7 points per game, making 3.3 triples per game.
“[Wickizer] has great size, skill, and can really shoot the ball. He grew up an Aggie fan and has tremendous passion for the Aggies,” Smith said in a press release. “He fits the culture of our program as he will do whatever it takes for our team to be successful.”
Stastny, a 6-foot-4 guard, will travel a bit farther to reach Logan. He played his high school ball at Celina High School in northeastern Texas. Stastny had a highly distinguished career at Celina, earning district MVP four times, a three-time Texas Area Basketball Coaches (TABC) All-Region choice, a two-time all-area selection and TABC All-State as a senior. In his four years, Stastny accumulated more than 2,000 points and 500 assists.
“Karson has a great feel for the game,” USU head coach Craig Smith said in a press release. “He is skilled and can really shoot the ball. Karson is a fantastic young man that will thrive in Cache Valley.”
Over the course of his senior season, Stastny shot 64.2 percent from the field, 45.0 percent on 3-pointers and 82.7 percent on free throws.
Along with basketball, Stastny competed in track and field. He won a district championship in the 200-meters and high jump while competing in the triple jump as well.
Stastny will join three other freshman guards already signed to the team in recent months including former Lone Peak guard Steven Ashworth, former Hellgate (MT) standout Rollie Worster and Ukrainian international, Max Shulga.
Utah State lost the core of its guard rotation this offseason with the graduation of Sam Merrill and Diogo Brito, along with Abel Porter who transferred to Ohio State.
Those three accounted for 88 percent of minutes played by guards this past season. The remaining percentage belongs solely to the Australian sophomore, Sean Bairstow, who played 11.7 minutes per game in 32 appearances while averaging 2.8 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.0 assisted per outing. Bairstow won’t be the only returning guard. Virginia transfer Marco Anthony will be eligible to play this fall.
Wickizer likewise joins a crowded depth chart in the frontcourt, one which features All-Mountain West standouts Neemias Queta and Justin Bean. The depth at forward is already well-established with Brock Miller and Alphonso Anderson filling in alongside Bean and Queta. Redshirt freshman and three-star recruit, Liam McChesney, will also see his first action this fall after sitting out last year’s action.
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