Ijeoman and Jusianiec Commit to Men’s Basketball Program

Canisius head men's basketball coach Jim Christian announced today that Kingsley Ijeoma and Max Jusianiec will join the Golden Griffins for the 2025-26 season.

Ijeoma spent the 2024-25 campaign as a member of the men's basketball program at Livingstone College, a Division II school located in Salisbury, N.C. Jusianiec is the sixth player to join the Canisius program from a Division I institution via the NCAA Transfer Portal after he played the previous two seasons at Mercyhurst University. Both players have one year of collegiate eligibility remaining.

A 6-foot-8, 200-pound forward, Ijeoma was one of three players on the Livingstone roster to appear in all 27 games during the 2024-25 season, where he made 23 starts. He was good for 7.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.9 blocked shots per game. He had two double-double performances for the Blue Bears last season, highlighted by his 19-point, 12-rebound effort against Bowie State. His 6.9 rebounds per game ranked seventh-best in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) and his 1.9 blocked shots per contest ranked him third in the conference. He ended the year by scoring in double-figures nine times, grabbing six-or more rebounds in 16 games and he was credited with multiple blocks in 15 games.

Prior to joining the program at Livingstone, Ijeoma was a member of the men's basketball program at Sam Houston State, but he did not appear in any games during the 2023-24 campaign. A native of Houston, Texas, he played in 32 games at Kilgore College 2022-23 and he started his collegiate career at State Fair Community College in Sedalia, Mo., where he played in 24 games and averaged 6.1 points and 4.9 rebounds per game in 2021-22.

"Kingsley provides great athleticism, interior toughness and rebounding to go along with a high motor," Christian said. "His proven ability to protect the rim and his developing offensive game will be valuable to our growth as a basketball program."

Last season at Mercyhurst, the Alfred, N.Y., native averaged 5.0 points and 3.2 rebounds per game while starting all 29 games for the Lakers. He ranked fourth in both rebounding average and total assists (38) for Mercyhurst, while averaging 22.9 minutes per game. He scored a season-high 10 points against Central Connecticut State, and he was good for a season-best nine rebounds in a league game against St. Francis (Pa.). In 2023-24, he posted 5.9 points, 3.6 boards and 2.1 assists per game in 18 contests at Mercyhurst. In a home win over Frostburg State, he scored a season-high 20 points to go with nine rebounds.

In 2022-23, Jusianiec played 29 games as a freshman at the College of Saint Rose, where he was named to the Northeast 10 Conference All-Rookie Team. In that year with the Knights, he averaged 11.0 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game, while also recording 0.9 blocked shots per outing. On Feb. 1, 2023, the 6-foot-7, 205-pound guard/forward scored his collegiate career-high of 39 points in a game against New Haven. In that contest, he went 14-for-22 from the field and drilled eight 3-point field goals. That 39-point effort marked the highest single-game scoring effort by a Saint Rose player in nine seasons, and it ranks as the fifth-most points scored in a game in the program's history. Prior to enrolling at the College of Saint Rose, Jusianiec played his high school ball at Wellsville High School, where he scored more than 1,000-career points and led the Tigers to a Section V championship. He was a two-time selection to the New York State Class B All-State team.

"Max is the son of a coach, and he comes from a basketball family," Christian said. "He plays the game with a high IQ and with a toughness that will help us immediately. His work ethic and experience fit perfectly into the culture we are building here at Canisius. I am excited to add a player of his caliber to our program."

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