CHICAGO (April 22, 2022) - Loyola University Chicago head coach Drew Valentine bolstered his frontcourt for the 2022-23 season today with the addition of transfers Bryce Golden (Richmond, Va./Saint James /Butler) and Jeameril Wilson (Chicago, Ill./Notre Dame College Prep/Woodstock Academy/Lehigh). Both Golden and Wilson will have one season of eligibility remaining.
 
"We have had a ton of success evaluating transfer student-athletes that fit our style of play and culture," Valentine said. "These two individuals are no different. We are excited to begin our spring signing with the addition of two quality young men that come from terrific families."
 
Loyola has been wildly successful in identifying and developing transfers, placing a transfer on a Missouri Valley Conference all-league team in six consecutive seasons, with two of those individuals – Clayton Custer (2018) and Marques Townes (2019) - earning MVC Player of the Year recognition.
 
More information on Golden and Wilson can be found below.
 
Bryce Golden, 6-9, 245, Center, Richmond, Va. (Saint James School/Butler)
Appeared in 102 contests and started 87 games during his four-year career at Butler … Averaged 7.8 points and 3.5 rebounds per outing as a Bulldog and in 2021-22, produced 8.7 ppg and 3.7 rpg, while connecting on 50.7 percent (107-for-211) of his field goal attempts and 34.9 percent (22-for-63) of his three-point tries … Started every game in which he appeared for Butler over the past three seasons … Scored in double figures on 14 occasions last season, including a career-best 22 points against Marquette … His best statistical season came as a junior in 2020-21 when he provided career bests of 10.4 ppg and 4.7 rpg and recorded 10 or more points 15 times … Some of his best efforts came against Purdue as he tallied 17 points and four boards against the Boilermakers in 2021-22 and 14 points against the in-state rival in 2019-20 … His brother, Grant, played at Richmond and finished his career ranked second on the Spiders' career scoring list with 2,246 points and third on the school's all-time rebounding chart with 1,015 boards.
 
Valentine on Golden: "First and foremost, Bryce is an incredible person. He is high energy, high character and is truly all about the right things. He comes from a great basketball family and played in a lot of high-level games during his four years at Butler. Bryce is a very skilled and physical post player who has the ability to stretch the defense as a shooter and he is a perfect fit for our style of play with his high basketball IQ and feel for the game."
 
Golden on Loyola: "I chose Loyola because I can feel what Coach Drew is building. In his first year as a head coach, there was no lapse in success. The team and staff are all super connected and this was an opportunity that was too good to pass up on!"
 
Jeameril Wilson, 6-7, 200, Forward, Chicago, Ill. (Notre Dame College Prep/ Lehigh)
Scored 956 points and grabbed 468 rebounds in 108 games during his four-year career at Lehigh University … Contributed 11.2 points and 4.8 rebounds, while draining 52.8 percent (142-for-269) of his field goal attempts and 43.2 percent (38-for-88) of his three-point tries, during the 2021-22 campaign … Scored in double figures on 20 occasions and recorded a pair of double-doubles in 2021-22 … Dropped in a career-best 23 points against Army in the 2021-22 regular-season finale and hung 17 points on Maryland earlier in the year … Had a breakout campaign as a sophomore in 2019-20, averaging 10.6 ppg, while ranking 10^thin the Patriot League with 5.3 rpg … Snagged a career-high 15 rebounds at Lafayette in 2019-20 … Member of the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll … Played one season at Woodstock Academy … Was a standout player at Notre Dame College Prep in Niles, Ill., where one of his coaches was former Loyola guard Kevin Clancy … Helped the Dons to 101 victories during his prep career and averaged 14.3 ppg, 7.3 rpg and 3.0 apg as a senior, while earning First Team All-East Suburban Catholic Conference honors.
 
Valentine on Wilson: "We are excited to bring 'Mero,' back home to Chicago! He's been well coached in high school and college and he brings a ton of experience to our program. We love his ability to make shots from the perimeter as well as create off the bounce for himself and his teammates. Mero wants to WIN and from the moment we began speaking with him, we knew he would be a great fit in our culture both on and off the court."
 
Wilson on Loyola: "I chose Loyola because of the culture. The elite academics, combined with the basketball atmosphere, passion from the coaching staff and player synergy is second to none. I only have one year left of college basketball, so I really needed a place with a strong foundation and Loyola checks the box in every aspect, and it's also located in the best city in the world!"
 
Loyola, which has posted 20 or more wins in each of the last five seasons and has made a trip to the postseason in each of the last four seasons when either NCAA Tournament or NIT games were played, is coming off a 25-8 season in 2021-22. The Ramblers will welcome back two starters from last season, including guard Braden Norris, who earned Third Team All-Missouri Valley Conference recognition this season. 
 
Loyola will begin play as a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference in 2022-23.