Men’s basketball picks up first commit in class of 2020
Caleb Byrd averaged 35 points in his two seasons at Rome High School.
September 12, 2019
The Georgia Southern men’s basketball team received a commitment from the No. 4 point guard in Georgia on Thursday via Twitter.
{{tncms-inline account=”Caleb Byrd” html=”<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">110% Committed 🙏🏾🦅 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoEagles?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GoEagles</a> <a href="https://t.co/PQeNu3v8GI">pic.twitter.com/PQeNu3v8GI</a></p>&mdash; Caleb Byrd (@CByrd021) <a href="https://twitter.com/CByrd021/status/1172196428980113410?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 12, 2019</a></blockquote>” id=”https://twitter.com/CByrd021/status/1172196428980113410″ type=”twitter”}}
According to the 2020 GHSA Player Rankings, Caleb Byrd is ranked the fourth best guard in the state. He received 24 Division I offers including Sun Belt foes Appalachian State and South Alabama.
“I loved GS playing style from the jump from when they first started recruiting me,” he said. “The coaching staff have all been great and communicated very well with my whole family. I love the way Coach Byington coaches and handles things.”
For his freshman season, he played at Heritage High School in Conyers. Over the next two years, the 5-foot-11 guard attended Rome High School and averaged about 35 points a game. He was chosen for the 2018-19 Class 5AAAAA First-Team All State.
During the offseason, he played for Game Elite Adidas Gauntlet. The team is a part of a three-stop travel circuit for high-profile high school athletes from around the country who are gaining attention from college coaches.
“It was a great experience just being able to compete with the top players across the country and display my game.”
Last December, he dropped 51 points on Forest Park High School in the War Eagle Classic. This performance received state-wide media attention. He finished with 943 points last season.
For his upcoming senior campaign, he transferred to Newton High School which is in the highest class of athletic competition, 7A.
“I’m feeling great about my senior season,” he said. “I really feel like we can do really great this season…my goal is to be able to hang a region championship banner and state banner.”
Both of his parents are former basketball players. His mother, Felisha Jackson, played for the GS women’s basketball team in 1995 as a combo guard.
Byrd is the first commit of the 2020 season.
“I’m feeling great about my decision,” he said. “No doubt in my mind this was one of the best decisions I can say I have ever made.”
Amanda Arnold, The George-Anne Sports Editor, gasports@georgiasouthern.edu
