TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – RayQuan Evans is officially a Florida State Seminole.
After giving the Seminoles is verbal commitment on April 14, Evans, a former Billings Skyview High School standout, has now signed his national letter of intent, Florida State head coach Leonard Hamilton announced on Friday.
“RayQuan is a player we have had our eye on for quite a while,” Hamilton said in an FSU media release. “He comes from the same program as Braian Angola so we know he is well coached and knows the game well. RayQuan is a very versatile player who will play multiple positions for us. His ability as a scorer, a distributer and a defender will allow him to quickly fit in with our players and into our system. His addition to our roster gives us another player who will help is immediately because of his ability and his maturity.”
Evans has spent the past two seasons at North Idaho College, a junior college in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Playing in the Northwest Athletic Conference, Evans averaged 18.2 points, 7.4 rebounds and 4.9 assists in leading NIC to its second consecutive NWAC championship. He was the conference tournament MVP and was named the league’s men’s basketball player of the year.
“RayQuan did some amazing things during his career as a Cardinal,” said North Idaho head coach Corey Symons. “He is a two-time champion and a two-time Player of the Year. Ray can impact the game in many ways; he is a big-time athlete and has a great motor. I am certain he will continue to do great things at Florida State.”
Prior to playing at NIC, Evans was among the best high school players in Montana when he was at Skyview. He averaged 14.5 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game as a junior, helping the Falcons win their second consecutive Class AA state championship. Evans averaged 18.2 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.1 steals per game as a senior as Skyview earned a third-place trophy.
Evans originally committed to play at Rocky Mountain College in Billings out of high school. He had an opportunity at the University of Montana, as well, but was a non-academic qualifier, so he ultimately ended up at NIC.
After exploding onto the national scene with the Cardinals, Evans committed to play at Utah State. He de-committed from the Aggies earlier this year and became a highly sought recruit, receiving interest from all over the country. His list included teams from the Pacific Northwest in Gonzaga and Washington State, but Evans made the decision to cross the country and play in the ultra-competitive ACC.
“I want to thank the coaching staff, my family, God and my teammates for pushing me to be where I am today,” said Evans. “It’s been a dream of mine to compete at the highest level and I’m excited to have the opportunity to make an impact at Florida State. I want to thank the coaching staff at Florida State because I believe they see something in me and are giving me a shot to play in the ACC. I could not be more thankful to them. I’m excited to get down to Tallahassee, bond with my new teammates and get my career as a Seminole started.”
Under Hamilton, Florida State has advanced to the NCAA Tournament each of the past three seasons, including a run to the Sweet 16 this year. The Seminoles set school records for single-season wins (29) and ACC wins (13) during the 2019 season.
FSU begins the 2019-20 season on Nov. 6 with a conference game at Pitt.
