JUCO All-American, DI Bounce-Back Ahamad Bynum Signs with UTEP

Over the past month, the UTEP men's basketball coaching staff has been recruiting in the transfer portal and looks to replenish the talent they lost through graduation with three scholarships.

One of those scholarships appears to be taken, as the Miners announced Wednesday that Ahamad Bynum will be the newest signee for men's basketball. This comes on the heels of previous signee Jorge Moreno announcing on Tuesday that he will be opening his recruitment, thus freeing up a third scholarship

As a NJCAA Second-Team All-American and Division I bounce-back, Bynum will have two years of eligibility with the Miners.

He spent the past season (2023-24) undergoing a successful NCJCAA Tournament run with Tristinty Valley Community College. The 6-foot-3 guard averaged 18.3 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game, along with 1.6 steals. He had 15 different 20-point performances this past season and shot 38.8% from 3-point range (113-for-291).

Bynum's first Division I landing spot was DePaul during the 2022-23 season. He played in 11 games and scored 10 points against both Oklahoma State and Texas A&M. Interestingly enough, he played against the Miners and made a 3-pointer when the two teams played in a non-conference matchup on December 10, 2022.

Out of high school, Bynum was a top-100 recruit by most prep hoops websites like Rivals and ESPN. He was rated the No. 3 prospect in Illinois by ESPN and 247Sports. His alma mater in Simeon High was where former Miner Evan Gilyard Jr. starred before coming to El Paso.

Head coach Joe Golding said this about Bynum:

"We are fired up that Ahamad Bynum has chosen to join our UTEP Basketball family and share in the goals we have for this upcoming season. Dating back to Coach Haskins's earliest teams, this program has thrived on a Chicago pipeline. I couldn't be any more excited to add to that lineage of talent here at UTEP. He is a dynamic player with a natural gift to score the basketball, and a love for this game that is unmatched. This type of work ethic accompanied with his winning mentality are all reasons he has been a top priority for our staff in the recruiting process. He is coming off a Region XIV Championship and advanced to the NJCAA National Tournament this season at one of the most storied junior colleges in the country in Trinity Valley where he was coached and mentored by Martin Levinson and Guy Furr. We couldn't be more excited for what he brings to our roster for the 2024-25 season!"

With two scholarships remaining, the Miners will look to add a couple of difference-makers in the portal. The basketball squad doesn't anticipate any members of their current roster to hit the transfer portal, with only walk-ons like Sebastian Cole and Garrett Levesque declaring their intentions to transfer. However, by losing Zid Powell, Tae Hardy and Calvin Solomon, the Miners must replenish talent in the transfer portal.