Austin Peay Sports Information
Clarksville, TN – Talented wing Eli Abaev has signed on the dotted line of his National Letter of Intent to join Austin Peay State University men’s basketball beginning in the fall.
Abaev averaged 9.1 points and 9.8 rebounds per game for Eastern Florida State College last season, helping the Titans to a 30-5 record and a third-place finish in the NJCAA National Championship Tournament.
The Deerfield Beech, Florida native shot 52.9 percent from the floor in 24.9 minutes per contest, starting 32 of 34 games en route to First Team All-Mid Florida Conference honors.
In his first season, Abaev played an instrumental role for the national runners-up, as the Titans posted a school-record 31 wins. Abaev started 27 of 37 games and hit a whopping 59.8 percent from the floor, needing just 19.4 minutes per outing to pull down 7.4 rebounds.
He saved his best for tournament time, joining Kareem Brewton (now with Memphis) and Ahmed Ali (signed an NLI with Kent State) on the NJCAA Championship All-Tournament team.
Abaev’s two-year stint at Eastern Florida was preceded by his time at Zion Lutheran High School, where he averaged 12 points and eight rebounds per game on 56 percent shooting from the floor.
“The thing I like about him most is that he’s a winner,” said Austin Peay head coach Matt Figger. “His junior college played for a national title. He’s got a competitive edge about him, he can play multiple positions, he’s a high-volume rebounder and he does all the things that don’t necessarily show up in individual stats but help a team win.”
Abaev is now the second Gov to be brought in during the spring signing period, joining Isaiah Hart from Murfreesboro, TN. They join seven-footer Matheus Silveira and guard Antwuan Butler to make up Figger’s 2017-18 signing class to date.
