UNT Basketball: 2023 Pac-12 All Freshman Grant Newell Signs

Jonnyeagle · May 8

DENTON – The UNT men's basketball team has signed former Pac-12 All-Freshman forward Grant Newell.

The transfer joins the Mean Green after playing two seasons at California where he started 39 games for the Golden Bears, scored in double figures 14 times and was named to the conference's all-freshman team honorable mention in 2023 after receiving three votes from league head coaches. Newell was one of just seven Pac-12 freshmen to earn at least three votes.

He will have two years of eligibility remaining.

The 6-foot-9 Chicago native played in a total of 63 games over the two years for Cal and averaged 6.8 points and 3.7 rebounds per contest over those two seasons. The big man showed his range as he knocked down 39 3-pointers too.

Newell has recorded three double-doubles in his career, all against Pac-12 opponents, including a 21-point and 10-rebound performance at Washington as a freshman. He was 10-of-18 from the floor in the game. Newell had another double-double his freshman season against Colorado when he pulled down a career-high 12 rebounds to go along with 13 points.

Newell became the first Cal freshman since Jaylen Brown in 2016 to record multiple double-doubles in a season.

He also had a double-double last year with an 11-point and 10-rebound performance against rival Stanford.

Newell graduated from IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, in 2022. Prior to that he played at Whitney Young High School in Chicago where he was an All-City Special Mention in 2021. Newell was a three-star prospect by ESPN and held offers to DePaul, South Florida, Nevada, St. Bonaventure, East Carolina, Kent State and Youngstown State in addition to Cal coming out of IMG.

This summer he chose North Texas over UAB, Charlotte, Wichita State, Rice, East Carolina, Tulsa, Arizona State, Saint Mary’s, Stanford and New Mexico among others.

Newell joins a North Texas signing class that includes incoming freshman Tyran Mason (Plano HS) and transfers Jasper Floyd (Fairfield), Latrell Jossell (SFA), Johnathan Massie (Longwood), Brock Vice (Creighton) and Atin Wright (Drake).

For more information on UNT men's basketball tickets, contact the Mean Green Ticket Office at 940-565-2527 or at ticketoffice@unt.edu. Fans can visit the UNT Athletics Ticket Office located at Gate 2 of DATCU Stadium between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.