Marquette men’s basketball secured the commitment of Utah graduate transfer Jayce Johnson Tuesday afternoon, a source with direct knowledge confirmed.
He will be eligible to play immediately this fall for his final year of eligibility. It leaves Marquette with two open scholarships for the upcoming season.
Johnson, a 7-foot center, averaged 7.1 points and 7.7 rebounds for the Utes last season. He had a season-high 17 points Feb. 14 against Arizona.
“He’s a terrific rebounder,” head coach Steve Wojciechowski said. “He’s a tremendous competitor. … The thing I like the most about him is he wants to be a part of a winner.”
Johnson joins Theo John and Ed Morrow as post options for next year, giving Wojciechowski more flexibility in the post.
“There’s no question you’re going to see us next year having two big guys on the court at the same time,” Wojciechowski said. “There is going to be times where we are really big with two traditional post players. For me, that’s exciting. And there will be other times where one of those guys will be on the court.”
Originally he chose Utah over Colorado, Notre Dame, California and Stanford. He played for the same summer basketball program as former Marquette recruiting targets Nico Mannion, Josh Green and Riley Battin.
Ben Steele of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel first reported Johnson’s commitment.