Crookston, Minn. – Minnesota Crookston men's basketball and head coach Bryan Beamish announced the signing of Aguek Deng (Des Moines, Iowa). Deng becomes the sixth signee of the class for the Golden Eagles and the third transfer that will join the Golden Eagles this upcoming season.
 
Heading into his second season at the helm of the Golden Eagles, coach Beamish is excited to add some length and unlimited athleticism to his roster.
 
"We are pleased to add Aguek to our Golden Eagle basketball family. He brings college level experience with size and athleticism. As we continue to build on our culture, he fits exactly what we are looking for in a student-athlete."
 
The six foot nine transfer from Black Hawk College in Illinois will bring some size and athleticism to the Golden Eagles frontcourt. The Des Moines, Iowa native will join Pedro Rossi, De'Antray Hughes and Jordan Mitchell in the frontcourt.
 
The Golden Eagles are entering their second season under Beamish. UMN Crookston has a strong core returning for the 2023-24 season with five players who started more than half of Minnesota Crookston's contests returning. Junior guard Blaize Sagna led the Golden Eagles in 2022-23 with 15.9 points per game. Xzavier Jones returns after notching 13.4 points and 5.3 rebounds, while Chandler Meeks notched 7.8 points per game as a freshman last season. Hughes averaged 5.0 points per game and 4.1 rebounds per game, while Rossi finished with 4.4 points per game and 14 makes from deep last season.
 
Adding Deng to this year's roster is the finishing touches for the Golden Eagles, who now have 14 on their roster heading into the 2023-24 season.
 
"We are very excited to get going in the fall with our core group of returners and our new additions in this recruiting class."
 
The student-athletes listed as having signed a National Letter of Intent or Offer of Admission to play men's basketball at the University of Minnesota Crookston have been verified by the Minnesota Crookston compliance office once they sign the National Letter of Intent or once the student-athlete has accepted an Offer of Admission for Minnesota Crookston.
 
Aguek Deng (F, 6-9, 190, Waukee, Iowa)
Deng will be a junior this upcoming year for the maroon and gold. Deng has spent time at Highland Community College and most recently at Black Hawk College in Illinois. During his two years at Highland, Deng played in 44 games, starting 25 of those games, averaging 7.9 points per game, including 8.3 points per game as a freshman. Deng averaged 7.3 rebounds per game throughout his career at Highland. Last season at Black Hawk College, the Iowa native averaged 5.9 points per game and 6.5 rebounds per game, which ranked 34^th in the entire nation in that category. He also blocked 23 shots in 15 games, which ranked 28^th in the nation.
 
Deng is the son of James Aguek and Ajok Ral. Deng plans to major in Sports Management while at the University of Minnesota Crookston.