Fordham forward Elijah Gray joins Temple frontcourt

After a busy week of revamping the backcourt, Temple got its first frontcourt addition of the recruiting cycle when former Fordham forward Elijah Gray announced his commitment to the Owls Friday morning.

As a member of the 2022 class, Gray averaged 17.1 points on 58% shooting and 8.2 rebounds per game in his senior season at Hargrave Military Academy. The forward chose to go to Fordham after being recruited from schools like Tulsa, East Carolina and Murray State.

While at Fordham, the 6-foot-8, 220-pound forward averaged 8.4 points on 42% shooting, while also grabbing 3.7 rebounds in 18 minutes of play per game last season. Gray had 15 or more points in six games last season and registered a double-double against Davidson on Jan. 17 when he put up 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Gray was a key piece for the Rams in the middle part of the season, logging increased minutes and starting eight games while averaging 10.7 points and 4.3 rebounds over a 20 game stretch. In the season's final seven games, however, he saw his minutes decrease and he averaged just 2.5 points in that span.

The Charlotte native’s commitment to Temple is the fourth the Owls have gotten this offseason, following former New Mexico guard Jamal Mashburn Jr., St. Joe’s transfer point guard Lynn Greer III and former Penn State guard Jameel Brown.

Gray joins a depleted frontcourt after the departures of Sam Hofman, who was out of eligibility, and Emmanuel Okpomo to the transfer portal. Steve Settle III is the only forward on Temple’s roster who got minutes last season.

Rivals rated Gray as a 3-star transfer portal recruit, and he will have two years of eligibility remaining including next season. With the addition of Gray, Temple now has two scholarships remaining for the upcoming season and will continue to look to build up its frontcourt in the portal.