Men's Basketball | 8/2/2022 10:19:00 AM

August 2, 2022-Add another pro to the lists of Emporia State men's basketball alumni as Tray Buchanan has signed with AEL-Limassol in Limassol, Cyprus. He is the sixth Hornet to sign a professional contract since 2019 and second off of last year's 20-9 team.

Buchanan made an immediate impact at Emporia State during his grad transfer year.  The guard from Rock Island, Illinois scored a game high 19 points in the Hornets exhibition game with eventual Division I national champion Kansas and then erupted for 31 points in the regular season opener.  He had a game high 29 points in the Hornets 75-56 victory over Northwest Missouri in White Auditorium – the first of two wins for Emporia State over the eventual national champions last season. He would go on to lead NCAA Division II in scoring from start to finish, averaging 25.6 points per game.  He earned D2 Conference Commissioners Association All-American honors, becoming the first men's basketball player to earn All-American honors since 2003.  
 
"What Tray did to the single-season record books at ESU and at the conference and national level is unprecedented," said Hornet head coach Craig Doty. "We gave him the keys to the car but he showed every day in practice why he deserved to drive."

He was the leading scorer in NCAA Division II at 25.6 points per game and ranked third among all NCAA men's players in the nation. He led the nation in made free throws while ranking tenth in three-pointers per game. His 742 points last season rank fourth on the Emporia State single season list while his 95 made three-pointers are tied for second and his 225 made free throws set a school record.
 
"Throughout the season, Tray advanced in his ability to run the point and to lead a team. Tray went from a transfer portal player who didn't have much recruitment to a professional basketball player in one season at Emporia State," said Doty. "It was a pleasure to coach him and even more so to know him. He is a special man."

Buchanan will play for a team that went 9-13 in the OPAP Basketball League last season. The league is the top-tier level men's professional basketball competition of the Cypriot basketball league system. It is run and governed by the Cyprus Basketball Federation. Their season runs from October through the playoffs in April.
 
The Hornets went 20-9 last season with a 15-7 record in MIAA play. It was the first 20 win season by Emporia State since 2007 and a school record for wins in MIAA action. The Hornets are set to return five of their top eight scorers and six of their top nine rebounders from this past season.