Men's Basketball Welcomes Cooper Haynes

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - - Belmont University men's basketball head coach Casey Alexander announced Wednesday the signing of Cooper Haynes to a national letter of intent to play basketball for the Bruins, starting in the fall of 2024.
 
"Our staff recruited Cooper for a long time and expect him to impact our program right away," Alexander said. "Cooper has demonstrated tremendous offensive skill and playmaking ability during his high school career and AAU basketball. He plays with an edge and a level of toughness that our program values."
 
The 6-3 guard has emerged as one of the top players in the state of Tennessee in recent years.
 
He enters his senior season at Briarcrest High School with 1,940 career points, on 55/44/85 shooting splits.
 
Haynes is a two-time Tennessee First Team All-State selection, two-time All-Region selection and was named the 2023 Tennessee West Region Division-2AA Player of the Year.
 
The Memphis, Tennessee native averaged 17.1 points per game as a junior in leading Briarcrest to a 33-3 record and state runner-up.
 
Haynes, a multiple All-Metro Memphis selection, was recently named to the preseason Player of the Year watch list by the Memphis Commercial-Appeal.
 
The left-handed guard is listed as a four-star recruit on ESPN.com, ranked as high as the No. 29 shooting guard in the nation.
 
He is also ranked among the top shooting guards in the southeast by numerous recruiting services, including 247, Rivals and On3.
 
Haynes played AAU basketball for STARS Basketball Club.
 
Haynes joins Jabez Jenkins and Eoin Dillon in the Belmont incoming class.
 
Belmont University men's basketball has been a postseason fixture the last two decades, including nine berths to the NCAA Tournament. The Bruins have won 20 conference championships since 2006 - third-most nationally over that span (Gonzaga, Kansas). Belmont has won 20 or more games in 13 consecutive seasons (Gonzaga, Kansas, Oregon) and 19 or game games in 18 consecutive seasons (Gonzaga, Kansas, San Diego State). Belmont is among select programs with two or more first-round selections in the NBA Draft over the last five years (Ben Sheppard, Dylan Windler). Belmont University men's basketball boasts an NCAA-leading 19 CoSIDA Academic All-America selections since 2001 and is the only NCAA Division I program to make the NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) Honor Roll every year of existence