Florida Atlantic Men’s Basketball has landed their second former 4 star commit of the offseason via the Transfer Portal. On Wednesday afternoon, former UCLA Forward Devin Williams announced that he would be transferring to FAU for his redshirt sophomore season, joining Isaiah Elohim and Maxim Logue as the first 3 portal commits of the offseason for the Owls.
The 6 ’10 200 pound center is a native of Riverside, California and has spent the first 2 seasons of his career playing for Mick Cronin and UCLA. After appearing in 10 games and averaging 1.7 PPG his freshman season in ‘23-‘24, Williams redshirted this past season and will head to Boca Raton with 3 seasons of eligibility remaining.
Williams was a 4 star recruit out of Centennial High School in Corona, California and was the #72 overall player in the class of 2023 per ESPN. A versatile player, Williams averaged 11.2 points and 5.8 rebounds per game as a junior, shooting 44% from 3.
In an interview with ON3 sports in 2023, Williams was asked what type of player he was and his answer, gives a similar archetype of what Baba Miller brought to FAU last season.
“I can do a little bit of everything,” Williams says. “Shoot off the dribble, shoot off the catch, defend the rim, push the break, rebound the ball on both ends, and finish over the rim. I’m excited to get to UCLA to get stronger and get better every day,” Williams said in an exclusive with ON3 sports in 2023.
The Owls had a glaring need for size after the departures of Baba Miller, Kaleb Glenn, Tre Carroll, Matas Vokietaitis and Mantas Kocanas and at 6’10, Williams will combine with 6’9 Maxim Logue to give FAU a boost of size and athleticism in the front-court. Although Williams tenure at UCLA didn’t go as planned, there is a ton of untapped potential in his game and he will look to tap into that potential with John Jakus and have success the same way FAU’s front-court did last season.
Williams joins Isaiah Elohim as the second former 4 star to commit to FAU this offseason and both will look to develop in Boca Raton after being unable to at their respective schools in Southern California. Specifically for Williams, he will get to learn under Isaiah Austin and in his first year in an assistant coaching role, the former Baylor star has shown a knack for being able to work well with young big-men.
Although the portal has hit FAU hard this offseason in terms of departures, John Jakus and his staff have been working diligently to identify talent they believe they can develop and turn into contributors right away. With the addition of Williams, FAU now sits at 7 open scholarships and with the portal now closed for entries, the staff can fill out the remaining spots without worry of another departure.