Jalen DeLoach signs with Bulldogs

ATHENS, Ga. — Jalen DeLoach, an All-Atlantic 10 forward at Virginia Commonwealth last season, will transfer and play for the Georgia Bulldogs next season, head coach Mike White announced on Saturday.

DeLoach, a 6-9, 215-pound rising junior from Savannah, Ga., was named third-team All-A10 last season after starting 32 of 34 games played and averaging 9.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game for the Rams. DeLoach was even more productive in A10 action, contributing 10.2 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. Among the league’s statistical leaders, he ranked No. 7 in rebounds and No. 5 in blocks. DeLoach helped VCU finish 27-8 and sweep off the Atlantic 10 regular-season and tournament titles en route to an NCAA Tournament appearance.

As a freshman, DeLoach averaged 4.1 points and 3.7 rebounds in 31 outings for the Rams, who finished 22-10 and earned an NIT bid. He upped his contributions in league play to 4.6 points and 4.0 boards per game.

All told, DeLoach played in 65 games at VCU and scored 457 points, grabbed 349 rebounds and blocked 74 shots. He notched 19 double-figure scoring games, five double-digit rebounding efforts and five double-doubles while converting on 56.9 percent of his field goal attempts.

DeLoach arrived at VCU after a postgraduate season at The Skill Factory (TSF), a prep school in Atlanta, in 2020-21. He helped TSF capture the 2021 Phenom Post Graduate National Championship while averaging 17.0 points, 10.3 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.5 blocks per game and shooting 64 percent from the field. DeLoach played at Berkmar High School during the 2019-20 season and earned All-State honors from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution after averaging a double-double of 16.0 points and 11.0 rebounds and helping the Patriots reach the quarterfinals of the Georgia Class 6A state tournament. During 2018-19, DeLoach contributed 7.8 points and 5.3 rebounds at Gray Collegiate Academy in Columbia, S.C., as the War Hawks finished 21-10 and won the Class 2A state championship. DeLoach began his high school career at Islands High School in Savannah, where he grew seven inches, to 6-7, between his freshman and sophomore seasons.

DeLoach comes from an athletic family. His older brother Kalen is a redshirt senior linebacker at Florida State, where he started all 13 games of the 2022 season. His older sister Taylor was a Big Ten champion in the long jump and 400-meter relay at Ohio State.

DeLoach is the fourth signee set to join the Bulldogs for the 2023-24 season. Last Friday, White announced signing RJ Melendez, ESPN.com’s No. 56 recruit in the Class of 2021 who played at Illinois the last two seasons. Last November, Georgia inked a pair of ESPN.com top-100 Class of 2023 high school prospects – No. 83 Lamariyon “Mari” Jordan, a small forward from Norcross High School, and No. 90 Dylan James, a power forward from Winter Haven (Fla.) High School.

Georgia finished 16-16 in 2022-23, White’s first campaign in Athens. The Bulldogs upped their win total by 10 victories from 2021-22, the second-largest regular-season increase among Power 5 teams.