National Champion Ferris State Adds 6-9 NCAA Division I Transfer Taylor Adway
Big Rapids, Mich. - Reigning NCAA Division II National Champion Ferris State has announced the addition of an NCAA Division I transfer in big man Taylor Adway (Hazel Crest, Ill.), who will join the Bulldog men's basketball squad for his senior campaign this coming year.
The 6-9 Adway has spent the past three years at the University of Toledo, appearing in 81 games and making 33 starts for the Rockets. This past season, in 2017-18, Adway started 32 of his 34 contests and contributed nearly five points and four rebounds per game at the D1 level.
Adway's presence, combined with an impressive recruiting class featuring five incoming freshmen and a junior college All-American, will help the Bulldogs reload their roster and offset the loss of the school's all-time winningest senior class along with National Player of the Year and Xavier graduate transfer Zach Hankins.
"We're excited to add Taylor to what was already a great recruiting class for this coming year and our returning talent," said FSU head coach and National Coach of the Year Andy Bronkema. "He brings significant size and maturity after three seasons of Division 1 basketball so we expect him to make a big impact."
In 2017-18, Adway shot 49% from the floor and tallied 159 points along with 124 total rebounds while helping UT to a 23-11 overall record. He also blocked 22 shots and hit 66.2% of his free throws while playing a personal career-high 14.9 minutes per game. Adway was listed as one of the squad's most improved players and also averaged 11.5 points along with six rebounds during the Rockets' foreign trip to Italy last summer.
The previous year, in 2016-17, the veteran post played in 30 games for the Rockets and shot nearly 54% from the field. Overall, he totaled 262 points, 200 rebounds, 29 blocks and 21 assists for Toledo in his three seasons.
An athletic performer who brings a low-post scoring option along with strong rebounding and interior defense, Adway prepped at Hillcrest High School in Illinois. A four-year letterwinner on the prep level, he was an Associated Press Class 3A All-State pick as a senior. Adway also earned South Suburban Blue Player of the Year recognition and was a two-time all-conference choice.
On the high school level, Adway helped lead his squad to the state semifinals as a freshman along with a pair of super sectional appearances and a regional finals finish. He averaged 17 points, 10 rebounds, five blocks and two assists a game as a senior and was chosen to play in the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association All-Star game. He also competed in track and field, winning a regional title in the high jump.
Adway is the son of Tony and Tarmika Thompson-Adway and has a sister along with a pair of brothers.
This past season, Ferris State captured the school's first national championship and also matched the all-time NCAA Division II record for victories in a season with a 38-1 campaign. FSU, which topped Northern State 71-69 in the national championship game in Sioux Falls, S.D., capped a magical season which saw the Bulldogs match the all-time NCAA Division II record for most wins in a year while finishing with a 38-1 mark.
FSU also won its second consecutive Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Regular Season Championship, a fourth-straight GLIAC Tournament title and the Midwest Regional crown.
While the Bulldogs lose five seniors and Hankins from this season's roster, FSU will return nine letterwinners for the 2018-19 season while welcoming in a highly-talented recruiting class.