Wyoming Inks 6’8″ Forward Kiani Saxon from MWSU

LARAMIE -- Wyoming has landed another big man.

Kiani Saxon, a 6-foot-8, 210-pound forward has committed to the Cowboys, becoming the seventh transfer added to the program this offseason. The New Zealand native spent last season at Missouri Western State, a school Sundance Wicks coached at from 2020 to '23 before accepting an assistant job in Laramie.

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Prior to his two-year stop in St. Joseph, Saxon spent two seasons at LSU Eunice, a junior college, where he earned All-LCCAC Honorable Mention honors in 2022-23.

During that sophomore campaign, the big man averaged nearly eight points and 5.3 rebounds an outing. He connected on better than 55% of his shots from the field, including 38.9% from deep.

"Kiani is tough, physical and constantly finds ways to impact winning on the basketball court," former MWSU head coach Will Martin said on signing day back in 2023. "He has the opportunity to help our team immediately on the court with his ability to score and defend at a high level. Kiani is a team first player who has an innate skill set of making everyone around him better."

Martin is now an assistant at UW.

Saxon joins transfer Buddy Hammer Jr. (Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College) in the Cowboys' front court. That duo will battle for minutes with returners Matija Belic and Abou Magassa, as well as rookies Gavin Gores (6'10", 210, Cumberland, Wisconsin) and Neil Summers (6'9", 240, Laramie, Wyo.).

Wicks and Co. also added guards Jared Harris (Memphis),  DaMarion Dennis (Texas A&M-Corpus Christi), Adam Harakow (Lake Superior State), Uriyah Rojas (Chaffey College) and Khaden Bennett (Quinnipiac) this spring. True freshman Nasir Meyer (6'7", 185, Los Angeles, Calif.) will arrive on campus this summer.

Freshman walk-on Garrett Spielman of Sheridan is also currently on the roster.

Last winter at MWSU, Saxon netted 8.1 points per game and chipped in with nearly four rebounds. He shot 55% from the field and sank 15-of-50 three-point attempts. He also swatted away 37 shots and capped the year with 13 steals while starting all 30 games for the Griffons.

Six times Saxon reached double figures, including a 14-point night against Northeastern State. He was 6-of-9 from the floor that night and dished out a season-high five assists.

Saxon was also a critical piece to his home country's U19 National Championship run back in 2019.

Six Cowboys have entered the NCAA Transfer Portal since the spring window opened on March 24, including guards Obi Agbim (Baylor), Nigle Cook, Levi Brown and AJ Wills (Hofstra).

Big men Scottie Ebube and Oleg Kojenets (Stony Brook) also left the program.

- University of Wyoming’s Top 50 Football Players