WKU men’s basketball head coach Rick Stansbury announced Monday the addition of Austin Peay transfer Jared Savage (6-5, Guard/Forward) to the Hilltopper program.
Savage, a Bowling Green native, will have two years of eligibility remaining after sitting out the 2017-18 season per NCAA transfer rules.
He is the son of Jermaine Savage, a former Franklin-Simpson and APSU star, who was a volunteer assistant coach helping Justin McClellan with the Lady Panthers in the 2012-14 season.
“We’re excited to have Jared become a part of our family,” Stansbury said. “We think he’s got a terrific upside, especially with the year of sitting out. Also, he comes from a very well-coached high school program at Warren Central, and from a very good family. When you add all that up, we’re very excited for him to join our program.”
Savage, a former Warren Central High School standout, averaged 8.1 points and 3.6 rebounds across his two seasons at Austin Peay, netting 109 of 290 attempts from 3-point range (37.6 percent).
Savage started 28 of 29 games for the Governors in 2016-17, averaging 10.3 points and 4.4 rebounds. He shot 41.3 percent from the field, made 57 3-pointers and hit 84.6 percent from the free-throw line.
Savage had his best game of the season against the Hilltoppers in December at E.A. Diddle Arena. He scored 24 points and netted five of six 3-pointers in his hometown.
As a freshman, Savage averaged 6.4 points per game but caught fire when it mattered most. The young guard had his best performances in the Ohio Valley Tournament, helping the eighth-seeded Govs win the title and advance to the NCAA Tournament, while knocking down a record 19 3-pointers over four conference tournament games.
Savage had 24 points and nine rebounds against UT Martin in the 2016 OVC Championship game and was named to the OVC All-Tournament Team. He averaged 12.9 points on 50.9 percent shooting after entering the starting lineup late in the season.
Before coming to Austin Peay, Savage starred just down the road from WKU at Warren Central High School. He averaged 18 points and 9.4 rebounds for the Dragons as a senior and was an all-district and all-region selection.