SAN FRANCISCO -- Eager to make another appearance in the NCAA postseason after doing so for two consecutive years, Academy of Art men's basketball Head Coach Scott Waterman and his staff have announced the addition of eight student-athletes to comprise the 2023-24 recruiting class. Joining ART U in the fall semester will be Allen Taylor (Bradley, Ark./Southern Arkansas University Tech), Ashton Howard (Cedarhill, Texas/Polk State College), Donovan Vickers (Edmond, Okla./University of Missouri-St. Louis), Isaiah Williams (Oklahoma City/Butler CC), Jamal Winston (Davenport, Iowa/Triton College), Quintin Metcalf (Wurzburg, Germany/Pratt CC), and Treylon Payne (Little Rock, Ark./Butler CC), Mason Hudnall (Dublin, Calif./L.A. Premier Prep).

"Our program is extremely excited about the addition of these eight student-athletes to our program," Waterman said. "They are not only great players on the court but are going to help us continue to build a strong ART U basketball culture. With a strong core of returners, each member of the incoming class fits a specific need to help us build upon our second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance last season and compete on a nightly basis in the extremely competitive PacWest Conference. September 7th can't get here fast enough so we can start to get to work."

Quintin Metcalf (Wurzburg, Germany/Pratt CC)
Metcalf will enter Academy of Art as an athletic junior, most recently playing for Pratt Community College in Kansas where he competed with the Beavers for two seasons. Metcalf's stats skyrocketed during his sophomore campaign, finishing the season in double digits in points with a team-leading 16.0 points per game and bringing in 7.8 rebounds per game all while averaging the fourth most amount of minutes on the squad. This includes a 47-point performance where Metcalf went 19-22 from the field shooting 86.4 percent. The six-foot-ten forward was a member of the Pratt squad that finished 17-14 overall, appearing in 31 games with 28 starts while hitting 61 percent of his looks from the field and 40.9 percent from three-point range. Metcalf was awarded with a spot on the All-First team in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference.

With a very eventful high school career, Metcalf was given numerous awards as a three-sport athlete during his time at Seoul American High School and Mercersburg Academy. Out of high school, Metcalf was signed to St. Bonaventure University. 

Metcalf will enroll in the School of Communications & Media Technologies upon his arrival at Academy of Art. 

Ashton Howard (Cedar Hill, Texas/Polk State College)
Howard comes to the Urban Knights as an athletic junior, most recently spending the previous season at Polk State College where he made an appearance in 28 of 29 total games while starting 20. He averaged 40.6 percent from the field and ended his only campaign with 7.1 points per game, 7.3 rebounds per game to lead the team, and 1.4 blocks per contest. Howard earned All-Conference recognition in his lone season with the Eagles being awarded second-team honors. 

Prior to Howard's stop at Polk, he spent the previous year at Tyler Junior College where he played in 28 games averaging 9.6 points per game and shooting 53 percent from the field. Howard also took in 4.8 rebounds per game in his one-season stint with the Apaches.

Upon his arrival at Academy of Art, Howard will enroll in the School of Communications & Media Technologies. 

Allen Taylor (Bradley, Ark./Southern Arkansas University Tech)
Entering ART U as an athletic junior, Taylor spent the previous three seasons with Southern Arkansas University Tech where he appeared in a total of 85 contests, and in his most recent year averaged 19.7 points per game on the strength of 45.5 percent shooting from the floor and 2.6 assists per game through 31 contests. The six-foot-three versatile wing knocked down 32.6 percent of his attempts from three-point range with the Rockets. Working hard on the glass, Taylor snatched a total of 6.5 rebounds per game over the course of his career.

Taylor was named to the First-Team DII Region Men's All-Region team in each season he played at SAU Tech and was inducted into the 2023 Rockets Athletics Hall of Fame. 

Upon his arrival at Academy of Art, the Arkansas native will enroll in the School of Communications & Media Technologies. 

Treylon Payne (Little Rock, Ark./Butler CC)
Payne comes to ART U after most recently attending Butler Community College where he played for the Grizzlies for three years before departing after the 2022-2023 season. During his time with Butler, the six-foot-two guard averaged 9.4 points per game over the course of 88 contests, which he accomplished with an average of 28 minutes per game. Payne shot a consistent 43 percent over the course of his three seasons and just under 35 percent from beyond the arc. Payne had a season high of 18 points against Hutchinson on 12/3 and ultimately led Butler Community College to the NJCAA D1 Men's Championship in Hutchinson, Kansas.

Upon his arrival at Academy of Art, Payne will enroll in the School of Communications & Media Technologies. 

Jamal Winston (Davenport, Iowa/Triton College)
Winston comes to the Knights as an athletic junior, spending last season at Triton College where he scored 10.6 points per game in the 15 games he played before a season-ending foot injury. He averaged 42.3 percent from the field and 36.1 percent from three-point range scoring 8.5 points per game, and ended his only campaign with 2.9 rebounds per game. Winston was dialed when it came to free throws during his time at Triton, shooting 90 percent from the line. Winston's best outing came during a 48 point performance where he knocked down 13 3-pointers in one game on Dec. 13, 2022 versus Richard J. Daley College.

Before arriving at Triton College, Winston played a year of ball at Sauk Valley Community College where he played in 26 games and averaged 9.9 points per game for the Trojans. 

Winston will enroll in the School of Advertising upon his arrival at Academy of Art. 

Isaiah Williams (Oklahoma City/Butler CC)
Williams comes to the Urban Knights squad as a six-foot-seven forward previously playing at Butler Community College. In his most recent season, the Oklahoma City native averaged 12.0 points per game, 6.0 rebounds per game, and 1.9 assists per game earning him a selection to the All-KJCCC Second Team and was a All-Defensive First Team recipient. With these awards, Williams was also named the KJCCC Player of the Week last Feb. 7 averaging 20 points, 11 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game while earning the title for the Grizzlies' for the second time of the season.

Williams also played a crucial role on a team that was crowned Jayhawk Conference champions for the first time since 2010 and beat a No. 23 ranked team in the first round of the 2023 NJCAA D1 Men's Basketball Championship. 

Upon his arrival at Academy of Art, the Arkansas native will enroll in the School of Communications & Media Technologies. 

Donovan Vickers (Edmond, Okla./University of Missouri-St. Louis)
Vickers comes to Academy of Art as an athletic junior, spending last year at University of Missouri-St. Louis. The six-foot-one point guard made an appearance in all 35 games for the Tritons while averaging the fourth-most points per game on the squad (8.8) while coming off the bench as the sixth man, and he did so by way of 42.1 percent shooting from the field and 38.1 percent from three-point range. As a point guard, Vickers dished the ball off for an assist 3.1 times a game in his 20.9 minutes per contest.

In addition to attending Missouri-St. Louis, the native of Edmond, Okla. spent his previous season with Southern Arkansas University Tech, appearing in a total of 31 games including eight starts and averaging 12.8 points, 5.6 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 2.2 steals per game. His best outing came in a 99-76 win at North Central Missouri when he dropped a season-high 25 points. 

Upon his arrival at ART U, Vickers will enroll in the School of Music Production & Sound Design for Visual Media. 

Mason Hudnall (Dublin, Calif./L.A. Premier Prep)
Hudnall comes to the Urban Knights squad as a six-foot-six true freshman from L.A. Premier Prep in Southern California. He competed there three years after a dominant season at Dublin High School which he left to focus more on his basketball career. Hudnall came out of his last year hot as he finished his senior season with 11.7 points per game, 4.4 rebounds per game, 3.3 assists per game, while adding on 1.2 steals per contest all while shooting 48.7 percent from the field and 47.4 percent from three-point-range. Hudnall also knocked down 85.3 percent of his shots at the foul line.

The combo-guard comes to Academy of Art with a stacked resume of accolades across numerous different teams. These include Pangos All-Star Top 20, DHS All-Tournament MVP, Elite 100 Top 25, CP3 Combine Top 20 All-Star, WCE Top 20 All-Star, Ballislife Top 20 All-Star and Playmaker Basketball Top 5 All-Star across teams such as L.A. Premier Prep, Dublin High School, Flight Elite, Oakland Soldiers, Splash City, and West Coast Elite. 

Upon his arrival at ART U, Hudnall will enroll in the School of Motion Pictures & Television.