After originally announcing his commitment to the FAU in April, Samford redshirt junior guard A.J. Staton-McCray has flipped his pledge to the Miami Hurricanes and head coach Jim Larrañaga.
A native of Delray Beach, Staton-McCray who was a three-star recruit out of high school, helped Blanche Ely to the state title in 2019, and spent the last four seasons at Samford before entering the transfer portal earlier this year.
“AJ is a very athletic, multi-positional player whose toughness and defensive ability will fit in very well with our current roster,” Larrañaga said. “He is the ultimate competitor and shoots the ball at a high level.”
Last season, the 6-foot-5, 195-pound guard had 11.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.6 steals, and 1.3 assists per game while shooting 44.2 percent from the field and 41.3 percent from behind the arch. Staton-McCray played a vital role in the Bulldogs’ success this season, as he helped lead Samford to a 29-6 record while winning the Southern Conference and earning a bid to the NCAA Tournament.
As a freshman in 2020–21, Staton-McCray was named to the Southern Conference All-Freshman Team after averaging 10.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game. At Samford, Staton-McCray averaged 9.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.7 steals in 84 total games played.
This offseason has been a busy one for Larrañaga and the Hurricanes, who have overturned their roster after a disappointing campaign that saw the team finish with a 15-17 record.
Since then, Miami has been extremely active in the transfer portal with the signings of former Idaho State forward Kiree Huie, Jalen Blackmon, who was one of the nation’s most prolific scorers last season after averaging 21.3 points per game, which was the 10th-best in the country; former East Carolina power forward Brandon Johnson, who averaged 14 points and 8.6 rebounds per game this past season; and former Virginia Tech center Lynn Kidd, who averaged 13.2 points and 6.5 rebounds while shooting 66.8 percent from the field, which was the fourth-highest in the country this past season.
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