“I definitely follow them,” Toppin said. “Obviously, on social media. I talk to coach (Anthony) Grant. I heard a new kid just committed. Keonte? Something like that.”
No one interviewing Toppin had heard that news.
“Maybe I wasn’t supposed to say that,” Toppin said.
Jones announced his commitment Thursday night on social media. He has been on campus and met former Dayton star DaRon Holmes II, who returned to UD to scrimmage with current and former Flyers and signed autographs for fans in Kettering on Thursday.
“I haven’t seen him on the court,” Holmes said, “but from the eye test and from what I’ve heard, it looks like he’s going to be a very valuable piece of this team.”
Jones, who’s from Madison, Wis., averaged 13.1 points, 9.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.3 blocks per game last season. He made the All-Big West first team.
Dayton was one of many schools to reach out to Jones in March, according to The Portal Report, but he committed to Southern California on April 5.
On April 28, however, Jones changed his mind.
“After much thought, I have decided to decommit from the University of Southern California,” he wrote on X. “Thank you to USC for the opportunity.”
Jones committed to Dayton in the same week he had sexual assault charges against him from 2020 when he was 18 years old dismissed in his home state. According to the Wisconsin Circuit Court website, “These charges were not proven and have no legal effect. Keonte T Jones is presumed innocent.”
Dayton Athletic Director Neil Sullivan released a statement to local media on Friday about the Jones case.
“The University of Dayton takes all legal matters seriously,” Sullivan said. “The University has done its due diligence in monitoring the legal proceedings involving Keonte Jones, which concluded with the dismissal of the charge.
“Keonte intends to enroll as a full-time student at the University of Dayton this fall and we welcome him to the men’s basketball team.
“Out of respect for the conclusion of the legal process and the privacy of all involved, the University will not be commenting further on this matter.”
In his first season at Cal State Northridge, Jones averaged 11.4 points and 6.9 rebounds.
Over the last two seasons, Jones made 27 of 76 3-pointers (35.5%). He shot 54.5% from 2-point range and 66.1% from the free-throw line.
Jones played his first two seasons (2020-22) of college basketball at a junior college, Mineral Area College, in Park Hills, Mo. He then played one more season at the junior college level with Midland College in Texas.
In high school, Jones played for Madison East, where he averaged 14.3 points as a senior in the 2019-20 season. He was named the top senior defender in the state by the Wisconsin Sports Network.
When Jones signed with Cal State Northridge, coach Andy Newman said, “Keonte lives above the rim and he’ll be electrifying to watch on the fast break next season.”
The 2025-26 season will be Jones’ sixth in college basketball, but last winter, a NCAA decision paved the way for athletes in his position to extend their college careers.
“The NCAA Division I Board of Directors granted a waiver to permit student-athletes who attended and competed at a non-NCAA school for one or more years to remain eligible and compete in 2025-26,” read a NCAA memo in December, “if those student-athletes would have otherwise used their final season of competition during the 2024-25 academic year, and meet all other eligibility requirements (e.g., progress toward degree, five-year period of eligibility).”
⚜️Available Transfer⚜️
— Transfer Tapes (@TransferTapes) March 30, 2025
Keonte Jones
🎥 Forward Slashing🎥
CSUN
**1 Year of Eligibility Remaining**
13.1 PPG | 9.0 RPG |4.1 APG | 40.6 FG%@Jelly_Keonte @EastSideBBB @CerebroSports… pic.twitter.com/xuGgVmIVmq
The Portal Report listed Jones as the top available forward/big man remaining in the transfer portal and the second best player overall.
Stephen Gillaspie, of NoCeilingsNBA.com, wrote about Jones as a NBA prospect in February.
“Offensively, Keonte loves to pressure the basket and finish at the rim,” Gillaspie wrote. “He displays the type of athleticism that leads you to believe that he could make it at higher levels of basketball. He can be pretty creative with his finishing angles and has nice body control. He can attack in either direction, and he has some ability to go to either hand.
Jones is the 12th scholarship player on Dayton’s 2025-26 roster. He’ll be one of eight newcomers. He’s the sixth transfer to join the program this offseason.
In the spring, Dayton added guards Adam Njie Jr. (Iona), Jordan Derkack (Rutgers), De’Shayne Montgomery (Georgia) and Bryce Heard (North Carolina State) and forward Malcolm Thomas (Villanova).
Six transfers is the most Dayton has added in one offseason. It had never signed more than four transfers in one offseason before this year.
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