Six-foot-10-inch forward Keelan Steele, the University of Maine men’s basketball team’s top rebounder this past season, has transferred to Mercer University, but Black Bears head coach Chris Markwood has landed two replacements.
Oliver Faubert, a 6-foot-8 forward from Fort Erie, Ontario, will be coming to Orono from NCAA Tournament team Saint Mary’s College in California and 6-foot-10 forward Ayden Evans is transferring from Ohio University.
Steele, who spent four years at UMaine including a redshirt season as the result of a lower body injury, averaged a team-high 4.5 rebounds for the 8-24 Black Bears this past season.
He also led the team in shooting percentage from the floor at 60.5 percent. He produced 8.1 points per contest while averaging 20.6 minutes of playing time. He was second on the team in blocked shots with 23.
He scored in double figures 10 times and had seven or more rebounds in seven games. He also had 21 assists and 19 steals.
Earlier this spring, UMaine guard Logan Carey transferred to Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia after leading the Black Bears in assists (78) and steals (50) this past season.
Evans and Faubert each spent two seasons at their respective schools, although Faubert was a redshirt his freshman season and will have three years of eligibility remaining compared with Evans’ two.
Evans appeared in 11 games for Ohio University, averaging 8.2 minutes per game, and averaged 2.3 points and 1.1 rebounds while shooting 45.5 percent from the floor.
He played one minute in Ohio University’s 79-57 win over UMaine on Dec. 3.
He appeared in 16 games his freshman campaign and averaged 1.2 points in 6.1 minutes per outing.
He played his high school basketball at Elizabethtown High School and was a member of the Kentucky All-Star team. He averaged 16.6 points and 10.3 rebounds his senior year.
Faubert appeared in 11 games for the 27-6 Gaels and averaged 2.1 minutes per game.
Prior to Saint Mary’s, he played for Fort Erie International Academy where he averaged 12 points, 5.2 rebounds and two assists in the 2023-24 campaign.
He shot 48.4 percent from the floor including a blistering 64.3 percent beyond the 3-point arc.
He was chosen the number one prep player out of Ontario by 247Sports.
