AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Augusta State men’s basketball head coach Dip Metress announced Wednesday that Virginia prep product Tye Beal will join the Jaguar program for the Fall, 2007 semester.

A 5-9 guard from Wakefield High School in Arlington, Va., Beal averaged 16.3 points per game as a senior and shot 35.6 percent from three-point range. He scored in double figures in 26 of 29 games and had a season-high of 29 points. He helped lead Wakefield to a 23-6 overall record and was selected to the First-Team, All-National District as well First-Team, All-Defensive squad.

“Tye is a great addition to our program,” Metress said. “He comes from the same region that our current guards Daniel Dixon and Steve Smith are from and we are excited about him joining us. He has the innate ability to score the ball for someone his size. He’s an excellent defender as well and is blessed with great athletic ability. We look forward to coaching him in the years to come.”

Beal joins Winthrop transfer Jason Killeen and prep point guard Tom Wright as newcomers to the Jaguar program.

Augusta State, which finished the season ranked No. 18 in the nation, is coming off the second-winningest season in the history of the men’s basketball program. The Jags posted a 24-7 record and climbed as high as No. 8 in the national rankings en route to winning the Peach Belt Conference regular season championship and earning the top seed in the NCAA South Atlantic Regional.

The Jags return all five starters and 10 lettermen, including Tyrekus “AJ” Bowman, a 6-5 forward who earned All-America honors as a junior and was named the Georgia Player Of The Year by the Atlanta Tipoff Club as well as the Peach Belt Conference Player Of The Year.