Gaston College's Jaylen Bates commits to sign NCAA Division I basketball scholarship at Florida A&M

When Jaylen Bates came to Gaston College, his goals were to make the Rhinos a championship team and attract a NCAA Division I scholarship offer.

A 6-foot-7 forward from Atlanta, Ga., Bates finished one game shy of a title in Gaston College's first basketball season in 50 years and on Wednesday realized his major college basketball dreams when he committed to Florida A&M University.

"I would like to announce my commitment to Florida A&M University" is what Bates posted on twitter on Wednesday afternoon.

Bates had narrowed his finalists to five schools before visiting Florida A&M and South Carolina State.

"When I took my visit to Florida A&M, everything was over the top," Bates said. "The academic advantages they were giving to me as far as majors they offer and the tutors they would provide as well as the playing style of the coach were positives. I just felt it was something I liked and wanted to be a part of.
"And I owe it all to Gaston College."

The Rattlers, who joined the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) last year, just completed their fifth season with Robert McCullum as head coach. Competing against a schedule that included major colleges Kansas State, Miami, Cincinnati, Arizona State and Illinois, FAMU went 13-17 overall and 11-7 in league play.

"The coach felt my defense and being a two-way player and energy guy was what they wanted and I wanted," Bates said.

Bates was one of four sophomores who were key players for Gaston College's startup program under head coach David "Dickey" Nutt and associate head coach Jamie Rosser. He averaged 13.5 points, a team-high 6.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists for the Rhinos, who went 18-10 overall and 8-6 in Region 10 to finish one game out of first place.

"Jaylen was very consistent for us throughout the year," Rosser said. "He was one of the steadiest players we had. We're so proud for Jaylen and feel gratified to have had him in our program because he's the kind of model kid that you want helping build and lead our program."

Rosser recruited Bates from Atlanta, Ga., on the same trip in which he also got commitments from Damon Davis and Joshua Johnson.

"Jaylen's story is unique in that I went to recruit Damon Davis and Joshua Johnson and happened to see Jaylen Bates in the gym," Rosser said. "And I knew right away that he was a kid that we wanted in our program. After speaking to him and explaining that we had a new program and what we were all about, he came to campus for a visit and the rest is history."

Bates and Davis were transfers from St. Petersburg, Fla., Community College to Gaston College; Bates averaged 6.7 points and 4.7 rebounds at St. Petersburg in the 2020-21 season.

Davis and the other sophomores - Kalil Camara and Zavion Jackson - are still considering four-year college options.

"Coming here, my first goal was to bring a championship to Gaston and then find a (four-year) school that fit me and my game," Bates said. "We came up a little short at Gaston but we had a great season and we gelled so much as a team."