University of Tennessee Athletics
Barnes Announces Signing of Kyle Alexander
May 09, 2015 | Men's Basketball
Tennessee basketball coach Rick Barnes has announced the addition of yet another talented Canadian standout, as forward Kyle Alexander submitted a signed National Letter of Intent to Tennessee Friday.
A native of Milton, Ontario, Alexander is a 6-10, 200-pound post player who plans to enroll at UT in June. He will have four years of eligibility upon enrollment and will be a freshman for the Vols next season.
"We are really excited about welcoming Kyle into our program, because he truly has incredible upside," Barnes said. "He's only been playing basketball for about two and a half years, but it's clear the sky is the limit in terms of his potential. I love his demeanor on the court and the way he runs the floor.
"He's is a great kid from a wonderful family, and my staff and I have been following his development for a while now."
Alexander is currently a senior at Athlete Institute, a prep school in Orangeville, Ontario. Students there attend Orangeville District Secondary School and compete for the AI prep team, which is associated with the school. Alexander is coached at Athlete Institute by Larry Blunt.
Alexander was one of just 24 players selected to participate in last month's BioSteel All-Canadian Basketball Game in Toronto.
Primarily a soccer and volleyball before deciding to focus on hoops in high school, Alexander played his AAU ball with the CIA Bounce program, coached by Tony McIntyre.
Alexander's older sister, 6-4 center Kayla Alexander, played collegiately at Syracuse from 2009-13, twice earning first-team All-Big East honors. She now plays for the WNBA's San Antonio Stars, who selected her with the eighth overall pick in the 2013 WNBA Draft.
Their father, Joseph Alexander, played college basketball at Niagara and scored more than 1,200 points from 1982-86.
Tennessee has just one letterman from Canada in the program's history. Hamilton, Ontario, native Bobby Croft starred as a Vol from 1967-70 and was a first-team All-SEC selection as a senior.
Barnes, however, boasts an impressive history of signing and developing Canadian standouts, including Cory Joseph (Toronto; now plays for the San Antonio Spurs), Myck Kabongo (Toronto; now plays in the NBA D-League) and Tristan Thompson (Brampton, Ontario; now plays for the Cleveland Cavaliers).
Alexander becomes the fourth member of a Tennessee signing class that includes forward Ray Kasongo (Toronto, Ontario), guard Shembari Phillips (Marietta, Ga.) and forward Admiral Schofield (Zion, Ill.).
Alexander and Kasongo will give the Vols multiple Canadians on the same roster for the first time in program history.
