Benson signs four for 2022-23
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman head men’s basketball coach Chuck Benson has announced the signing of four-student athletes for the 2022-23 season.
VIDEO: Chuck Benson Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman head men's basketball coach Chuck Benson has announced the signing of four-student athletes for the 2022-23 season.
The Eagles bring in three guards and a post following the graduations of Tripp Davis, Dima Bykov and EJ Bush.
Two of the players are transfers, while the other two are high school players from East Tennessee.
The transfers are Monty Johal (Springfield, Mo.), a guard from Tennessee State, and Ben Beeker (Hendersonville, N.C.). The high school players are both guards – Jack Browder (Kingsport, Tenn.) from Dobyns-Bennett High School and Jayme Peay (Kingsport, Tenn.) from Providence Academy.
"We wanted to make sure that whoever we brought in added to and did not take away from our existing roster," Benson said. "Yes, we lost quality pieces, but I think we have some guys coming back who are prepared to do more. Then we had some guys sitting out who are prepared to do more. The big thing was fit to our existing roster, scheme, program to give us the best chance to win games night in and night out."
Jack Browder – 6-4 – 185 – G – Kingsport, Tenn. – Dobyns-Bennett
HIGH SCHOOL: Browder helped Dobyns-Bennett to a 4A state championship in 2022 as well as section, region and conference championships that year. The Indians were repeat champions at the section, region and conference level. Along the way, Browder earned 4A State MVP honors as well as being named to the all-state tournament team. His senior year he was named Big 5 Player of the Year, first team all-region, first team all-conference and first team all-northeast Tennessee. He also earned all-conference honors as a junior in addition to being named the region player of the year. He scored 1,196 points in his high school basketball career while averaging 15 points, 9.1 rebounds on 42 percent shooting.
PERSONAL: The son of Alice and Marty Browder, his older brother Charlie plays football for the University of Tennessee. In high school, he was a member of the National Honor Society and the Beta Club.
Ben Beeker – 6-9 – 225 – F – Hendersonville, N.C. – Hendersonville – Furman
PRIOR TO CARSON-NEWMAN:
2021-22: Appeared in seven games, averaging 0.9 points per game and 0.6 rebounds per game. Did all his scoring against North Greenville when he tallied six points and three rebounds.
2020-21: Appeared in six games as a sophomore... Averaged 2.0 points per game while shooting 57.1% from the field... Poured in a career-high nine points on 4-of-4 shooting and added two rebounds and two assists in a victory over South Carolina State.
2019-20: Earned playing time in 14 games off the bench as a freshman... Averaged 1.0 points and 1.2 rebounds per game while shooting 53.8% from the field... Scored a season-best four points in a New Year's Day victory at VMI... Totaled two points and season-best five rebounds in wins over Charleston Southern at Columbia International.
HIGH SCHOOL: As a senior at Hendersonville High School, Beeker averaged 17.6 points and 13.0 rebounds per game to go with 2.2 blocks and 2.2 steals. He was named the conference player of the year as a senior. He helped the Bearcats to a pair of Mountain 6 Conference Championships.
PERSONAL: The son of Tom and Angie Beeker, he will pursue a degree in business at Carson-Newman.
Monty Johal – 6-3 – 195 – G – Springfield, Mo. – Glendale – Tennessee State
PRIOR TO CARSON-NEWMAN:
2021-22: Johal appeared in one game in an injury-plagued season, He made a three against South Carolina State.
2020-21: Played in 23 games, started in 10 games… averaged 5.0 points, 2.1 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 0.7 steals per game… third on the team in assists (28)… scored a season-high 16 points against Tennessee Tech (2/18)… registered two steals in four games… grabbed a season-best five rebounds at IUPUI… drained three three-pointers in two separate games.
2019-20: Played in five games for Big Blue before suffering a season-ending injury at Texas Tech… Had a career game in the season opener versus Alabama A&M (11/5/19) shooting 4-of-6 from the field, pulling down three rebounds, dishing out one assist and recording one steal in 16 minutes.
2018-19: Redshirt season... Appeared in four games for TSU averaging 3.8 points and 2.0 rebounds per game in 29 total minutes.
HIGH SCHOOL: All-time leading scorer in Springfield Public School history... Scored more than 2,500 career points during his four-year high school career at Glendale High School in Springfield, Mo. ... Three-time Missouri Basketball Coaches Association (MBCA) All-State honoree – Class 5 as a senior and junior; Class 4 as a sophomore... Averaged 28.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.7 steals per game as a senior... Ozark Conference Player of the Year and First Team All-Ozark Conference for performance during senior season in 2017-18... Earned First Team All-Ozark conference as a junior... Coached by Brian McTague at Glendale High School... Played for Yanders Law on the AAU circuit.
Jayme Peay – 6-5 – 185 – G – Kingsport, Tenn. – Providence Academy
HIGH SCHOOL: Peay earned all-tournament team honors twice while helping Providence Academy to an NCSAA Division 3 championship as a senior. In two years with the program, he averaged 14.1 points and 6.2 rebounds per game, scoring 676 points as a junior and senior.
PERSONAL: The son of Jamee and Torree Peay, he plans to study education at Carson-Newman. He was presented with Providence Academy's service award as a junior.
