INDIANAPOLIS - IU Indianapolis head basketball coach Paul Corsaro announced a pair of local signees to National Letters of Intent to join the Jaguar program, beginning this fall. Both Keenan Garner (Fishers, Ind./Fishers) and Ron Rutland III (Indianapolis, Ind./Crispus Attucks) recently signed with the Jaguars, bringing the incoming recruiting class to nine newcomers. Both will be true freshmen beginning with the 2024-2025 campaign. 

"We're excited to keep both of these young men close to home. They're two of the best high school players from the state of Indiana and are going to make a major impact in our program," Corsaro said. "We want to recruit the city and these guys want to be part of that. They're quality young men and excited to be here to make their impact on the program.

Rutland, a 6-foot-2 guard, starred at nearby Crispus Attucks High School and is ranked among the top-10 prospects from the state of Indiana. He averaged 12.7 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game as a senior after averaging 18.0 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game as a junior. He helped Attucks to a 19-7 record this past season and a second straight City Tournament title. In addition, Attucks won the Hall of Fame Classic in New Castle this past season. He scored his 1,000th career point in the IHSAA State Tournament his senior year and set the school record with nine threes in a game his junior year. He shot nearly 37 percent from three-point range his senior year. 

Rutland originally signed for Corsaro at UIndy before being released from his NLI and committing to IU Indianapolis this spring. 

Garner, a 6-foot-6 forward, was recently chosen to the Indiana All-Star Team and as one of six finalists for the Indiana Mr. Basketball Award. He averaged 15.9 points, 8.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game while shooting 58 percent from the floor for Fishers Class 4A state championship team. He averaged 8.3 points and 6.2 rebounds per game his junior year. Garner grew up on a U.S. Army base in Germany, playing primarily against other schools from nearby military bases. He played in the 2022 FIBA U16 European Championships for FC Kaiserslautern, averaging 11.8 points and 5.8 rebounds per game while shooting 57.1 percent from the field over seven games. He recorded double-doubles against teams from Romania and Ukraine in the event and had 16 points on a perfect 7-of-7 shooting in the finals against Finland.