MOBILE, Ala. – University of South Alabama head men's basketball coach Richie Riley announced on Monday that Lance Thomas has signed a grant-in-aid and will join the program for the 2021-22 season.

He is transferring to South from Memphis, where he has been a member of the Tiger program the last three years.

"Lance is incredibly versatile and that's important for how we want to play," Riley said.  "Not only can he really score inside, but he's a threat from three.  I'm excited about his ability to protect the rim on the defensive end.  His energy is contagious, he's a guy our fans will love."

In 12 appearances for the Tigers this season Thomas averaged 2.1 points and 2.1 rebounds per contest, adding four blocked shots and three steals.  He scored a season a season-best eight points in a victory over St. Mary's (Calif.) in UofM's first game of the year while also posting seven rebounds in a win over Mississippi Valley State and six in a defeat of Arkansas State.

After sitting out the 2018-19 season following a transfer from Louisville, Thomas recorded 4.4 points and 2.5 rebounds per outing, adding 31 blocks, 12 steals and 10 assists while starting 13 of the 29 games he appeared in.  His averages rose to 7.2 points and 3.2 rebounds per contest over the team's final 12 games highlighted by a career-high 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting in a win over Central Florida, with his efforts helping the Tigers to a 21-10 finish.

In his lone season at UofL, Thomas saw action on 12 occasions with averages of 2.2 points and 1.3 rebounds per game as the Cardinals finished 22-14 after advancing to the quarterfinals of the NIT.  He recorded season highs with 10 points and seven rebounds in a victory over Bryant and also posted five and three, respectively, in his collegiate debut against Southern Illinois.

Thomas earned four stars from 247Sports.com coming out of Norcross (Ga.) High, with the organization including him among the top 125 recruits in the country.  He was also rated among the top 150 prospects nationally by Rivals.com and was considered among the top 25 power forwards in his class by Scout.com after averaging 9.7 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.6 blocks as the Blue Devils finished 26-6 after advancing to the championship game of the state 7A tournament.  After posting 13 points in the title contest, Thomas was chosen first-team all-region and all-county while earning second-team all-metro honors.

He had averages of 8.3 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.7 blocks his junior season — collecting first-team all-region recognition — as NHS reached the Sweet 16 of the state tournament on the way to a 26-4 finish, while the Blue Devils went 27-4 after claiming the region title while advancing to the quarterfinals of the state tournament when he was a sophomore.

Thomas is the ninth newcomer expected to join the Jaguars in 2021-22, including the sixth transfer from another NCAA Division I school.  Tyrell Jones (Chicago, Ill., Auburn), Charles Manning Jr. (Riverhead, N.Y., LSU) and Diante Smith (Fort Walton Beach, Fla., TCU) are all currently enrolled at South, while Jay Jay Chandler (Katy, Texas, Texas A&M) and Greg Parham (Richmond, Va., VMI) signed grants-in-aid with the program last week.  Signing with the Jags in November were Marshall Kearing (Perth, Australia) — who will be coming from State College of Florida — and the duo of Alex Anderson (Millington, Tenn.) and Tyler Shirley (Mableton, Ga.) who are both currently high school seniors.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/WeAreSouth_JAGS. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

Join the South Circle, the unrestricted giving option of the University of South Alabama Athletics.  Contributions to the South Circle directly support all 17 sports in addition to various support programming. For more information on how you can join visit: http://jaguarathleticfund.com/give

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