Men’s Basketball Inks Five for 2021-22

Posted: Nov 11, 2020

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Santa Clara men's basketball has signed a five-member recruiting class.

Max Besselink, Jacob Holt, Brenton Knapper, Carlos Stewart and Camaron Tongue have inked national letters of intent and will join the program as freshmen next year.

"We are very excited about our 2021 recruiting class," head coach Herb Sendek said. "The members of this class complement each other and are great fits for our university and basketball program. Bronco fans will find this group easy to cheer for, and fun to watch develop and compete."

Besselink is a 6-foot-7 forward who plays for the Helsinki Seagulls in Finland's top basketball league.

Holt, a 6-foot-9 forward from Vancouver, British Columbia, will join fellow Canadians Jaden Bediako and Miguel Tomley on next year's roster. Josip Vrankic, who hails from Toronto, is a senior this season.

Tongue, a 6-foot-8 product from The Rivers School (Weston, Mass.), is a 3-star recruit who was ranked as the No. 4 player in the state of Massachusetts.

A pair guards round out the class.

Stewart is one of the top players in the state of Louisiana. The 6-foot-1 native of Baton Rouge averaged nearly 30 points per game in 2019-20 in leading The Dunham School to the state title.

Knapper played at Colony High School in Ontario, California, where he earned all-state honors as a sophomore and junior.

2021-22 Recruiting Class (Fall Signees)

Max Besselink
6-foot-7
Helsinki, Finland / International School of Helsinki

• Currently playing for the Helsinki Seagulls which plays in the Korisliiga, the highest tier of basketball in Finland.
• Selected to participate in the 2019 NBA Academy Games World Select Team in Atlanta, Georgia, where he averaged 11.3 ppg
• Member of the U-18 Finland National Team in the Baltic Sea Cup where he averaged 15.7 ppg, 6.7 rpg and 3.7 apg
• Invited to the NBA's 2019 Basketball Without Borders Europe camp in Latvia.

Jacob Holt
6-foot-9
Ladner, Delta, B.C. / Vancouver College

• Ranked the No. 21 player in Canada according to North Pole Hoops
• During the 2020 4A Provincial Tournament earned first team all-star and the best defensive player
• Member of the AAU program Drive which is based in Vancouver
• Selected to the 2019 U-17 Basketball BC Provincial Team

Brenton Knapper
6-0
Ontario, Calif. / Colony High School

• Earned all-state and All-CIF first team honors as sophomore and junior
• First team All-Mt. Baldy League as a freshman, sophomore and junior
• As a sophomore, helped lead the Titans to the CIF Southern Section championship and Southern Regional title. The team went on to earn state runner-up honors.
• Helped lead Colony to the conference title as a freshman and sophomore

Carlos Stewart
6-foot-1
Baton Rouge, La. / The Dunham School

• Ranked as high as the No. 2 player in the state
• Helped lead the Tigers to the 2019-20 state championship
• As a junior, averaged 28.2 ppg, 5.7 rebounds, 4.3 assist and 4.1 steals on his way to earning Class 2A MVP, first team all-district and all-metro. He shot 56.1 percent from the floor and 44.2 percent from behind the 3-point line while being named the district co-MVP
• Started on varsity as a sophomore, leading team in scoring en route to earning honorable mention all-state and first team all-district honors

Camaron Tongue
6-foot-8
Medfield, Mass. / The Rivers School

• Tabbed a 3-star recruit according to both Rivals.com and 247Sports.com
• Ranked the No. 4 player in Massachusetts and No. 7 player in the New England Region according to New England Recruiting Report.
• 2020 All-Independent School League (ISL) selection
• An All-New England Preparatory School Athletic Council (NEPSAC) choice as both a sophommore and junior
• Member of the adidas AAU program Mass Rivals, playing with the 17-U team as a rising junior