Joe Charles is staying close to home.
The former Carencro High and Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns star announced he was entering the NCAA Transfer Portal on March 19th, but did leave the door open of possibly returning to the Ragin’ Cajuns. Charles announced his decision on Thursday afternoon on social media as he committed to continue his collegiate career to play for the McNeese Cowboys.
The 6-foot-9, 215-pound junior is coming off a season in which he became a full-time starter for longtime head coach Bob Marlin and earned third-team All-Sun Belt Conference honors. Charles averaged 11.3 points and 9.6 rebounds while starting all 33 games. He also led the team in double-doubles (11), rebounds (318), steals (60) and blocks (37).
The previous season, Charles came off the bench in 33 games, averaging 5.4 points and 4.1 rebounds per game, and was a key player on the team’s SBC Tournament Championship team which made the NCAA Tournament.
As a freshman, Charles appeared in 24 games, averaging 3.1 points and 2.1 rebounds per game.
Charles was an all-state honoree at Carencro High School, earned District MVP honors, and helped the Golden Bears win a state championship. He signed with the Ragin’ Cajuns over the Southeastern Louisiana Lions.
McNeese is coming off a historic season under first-year coach Will Wade, as the team won 30 games, won the Southland Conference regular season and tournament championships, and made the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2002.