— By Bill Cornwell
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — As summer workouts have begun for Marshall men’s basketball, new head coach Cornelius Jackson continues adding to the Herd roster.
The latest additions are Alabama transfer Kai Spears, the son of Marshall Director of Athletics Christian Spears, and Dezayne Mingo, who comes to Huntington from the University of Guelph in Ontario.
Spears enrolled at Marshall last week after spending the past two seasons as a walk-on at Alabama. He’ll have two years of eligibility remaining.
The 6-foot-2 Spears appeared in 11 games last season, scoring 13 points, including a season-high five in a 99-67 win over Mississippi State.
He was redshirted in the 2022-23 season.
Spears, who was named to the Southeastern Conference All-Academic Honor Roll at the end of last season, was placed on scholarship at Alabama in early February.
Spears played earlier at Bishop Canevin High School in Pittsburgh while his father served as an athletic administrator at the University of Pittsburgh.
Mingo, who stands 6-4, crosses the border after being named as an Ontario University Athletics third-team All-Star. He was the OUA Rookie of the Year in the 2022-23 season as well as being named to the U Sports All-Rookie team, the Canadian equivalent to being named All-American.
Mingo is a Hamilton, Ontario native. He had a breakout season in 2023-2024, leading the Guelph Gryphons with a 21.7 points per game average for a team that went 5-17 for the year.
Mingo also led the Gryphons in assists with 117 and was second in rebounding with 136 and in steals with 27.
He’s expected to arrive in Huntington this week.