Men’s Basketball Announces First Recruits of 2020

HONOLULU – Chaminade University men's basketball coach Eric Bovaird announced Wednesday the first members of the 2020 recruiting class.

 
Patrick Renane is a senior at Dublin High School in Dublin, Calif. The 6-foot-6 guard was a key member for the Gaels, one of the top prep teams in the Bay Area, and helped them reach the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Northern California Section Open Division semifinal. Renane signed his National Letter of Intent during the Early Signing Period.
 
"Patrick has some very unique abilities for his size," Bovaird said. "He can score from the perimeter as well as inside. He gained some valuable experience this year playing for one of the best teams in California. He will develop into a very good player for us and is already a top-notch student as most on our team are."
 
DeRay Seamster is a 6-2 guard from Central Catholic High School in Portland, Ore., and was a

teammate of current 'Swords guard Isaac Amaral-Artharee. He earned All-Mt. Hood Conference Second Team honors this past season after posting averages of 13.8 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.0 steals. In the first round of the 6A Oregon Schools Activities Association (OSAA) playoffs, Seamster had 11 points, nine rebounds and nine assists in a 68-49 win over Canby. It proved to be his final game in a Rams uniform after the OSAA shut the season down four days later due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
"DeRay comes from a really good program in Central Catholic," Bovaird said. "He's played and succeeded on a high-level high school program and I am very intrigued with his abilities. I predict he will be a very good player here."
 
Jessiya Villa joins the 'Swords as a transfer from Division I Hawai'i where he spent the 2019-20 season as a redshirt and will have four years of eligibility with Chaminade. The 2017 Gatorade Hawai'i State Player of the Year from Kahuku High School in Kahuku, O'ahu, Hawai'i, the

5-11 guard guided the Red Raiders to the 2017 Hawai'i High School Athletics Association (HHSAA) Division I state championship and averaged 17.1 points, 6.2 assists and 4.8 rebounds in his only year there. He played his first three years of high school basketball at Martinsburg High School in West Virginia. Villa comes from a long line of an athletic family including his father, Kahi, who played professionally in two sports; basketball and baseball. Jessiya is the grandson of Chaminade Director of Athletics Bill Villa.

"We'd been recruiting Jessiya for several years," Bovaird said. "He is really fast and quick which should fare well with the speed we want to play at. He had a great high school career on O'ahu and in West Virginia. I am really excited we have him for four years and can't wait to see his development."
 
Another Division I transfer is Raazhel Watkins, a 6-1 guard who redshirted last year at Sacramento State. He played his first two years at Los Medanos College in Pittsburg, Calif., where he was a first team all-league selection twice. During his sophomore year, he posted 21.3 points, 6.3 assists, 5.6 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game. Watkins has deep family connections to the islands with aunts, uncles and cousins from his mother's side living on O'ahu. He will have two years of eligibility remaining.

 

 "Raazhel is a dynamic player and has the ability to create offensive opportunities for himself and others," Bovaird said. "He should be an impact player in our up-tempo offense and pressing defense. He has a lot of family on the island so this is a bit of a homecoming for him and glad he chose Chaminade."