SHAWNEE – Oklahoma Baptist men's basketball coach
Jason Eaker announced the signing of JUCO forward
Amren Hoard to his team's 2025-26 roster on Tuesday.
"You get very fortunate at times in our profession in regard to your recruiting and roster construction responsibilities and that's exactly what happened in this case with us adding a person and player as seasoned and accomplished as Amren," Eaker said.
A 6-foot-4 forward from Atlanta, Hoard will have two years of eligibility remaining after spending the previous two seasons at South Georgia State College. Last year, he started all 33 games and in 28.8 minutes of playing time, scored 10.1 points, grabbed 4.8 rebounds, notched 1.1 steals and dished out 1.4 assists per game.
Hoard also made 43 percent from the field, 34.5 percent from deep and nearly 79 percent at the charity stripe. Plus, during a game two seasons ago, he tallied 21 points and five rebounds and helped SGSC advance to the GCAA semifinals.
Eaker added, "Not only did he get the opportunity to play, in my opinion, the best junior college program and head coach in Georgia, but he played with a special team last season. He has a proven winning track record along with having a tremendous work ethic and high character; we cannot wait for him to get here in a few short weeks. Amren will impact our team in the locker room, practices and the games immediately."
Hoard's head coach at South Georgia State, Cory Baldwin, has high praise too:
"Proud is an understatement. Watching Amren's growth on and off the court has been a blessing. His improvement in all areas is what junior college basketball is about. Oklahoma Baptist is not just getting a talented athlete—they're getting a leader, a worker, and a person of character. I'm excited to see what unfolds at OBU, an awesome university, in a nice area, and national basketball program with one of the best head coaches in the country."
Since the 2018-19 season, Eaker's second year on the job, OBU has had at least one player from the state of Georgia on its roster. "The state of Georgia continues to play such an important and key role in us building an elite Division 2 basketball program at Oklahoma Baptist University."
