INDIANAPOLIS - The IU Indianapolis men's basketball program announced a seventh new addition and fourth transfer in this year's recruiting class as Austin Ball (Man, W.Va. / Man HS) recently signed to join the Jaguars. Ball, a 6-foot-7 guard/forward, spent the past two seasons at George Mason, redshirting this past year for the Patriots. 

"Austin is a big-time player and is going to be really good for us. He comes from a really good George Mason program and was a 4-star recruit coming out of high school," head coach Paul Corsaro said. "He's a legit 6-7 who plays out of the floor and shoots it really well. With us graduating Paul and Jarvis, we have a lot of opportunity for guys to step up and be our go-to scorers and we think that Austin is a guy that can come in and help fill that void. 

"We're excited to get him here, get him in the mix with the other guys we have coming in and the guys we have coming back to start putting the whole puzzle together. No question, Austin is going to be a very important piece in what we do next season."

Ball was ranked among the nation's top-40 small forwards in the class of 2023 with offers from Virginia Tech and West Virginia before committing to George Mason. He appeared in 23 games as a true freshman, averaging 2.5 points per game for a 20-win squad. He shot nearly 42 percent from the floor and 32 percent from three-point range and scored a season-high 10 points in a win over George Washington. He sat out this past season as a redshirt, practicing with the team and helping them to a 27-9 mark and a second round appearance in the National Invitational Tournament (NIT). 

He was a two-time VISAA All-State and All-VIC selection during his high school career and helped Man High School to its first Class A state title in program history in 2021. He was later selected to participate in the prestigious Capital Classic in Washington, D.C. in 2023. 

Ball becomes the seventh IU Indy men's basketball addition for next season, joining Eastern Kentucky-transfer Micah Davis, St. Bonaventure-transfer Jaxon Edwards, South Dakota State-transfer Will Whorton and high school signees Maguire Mitchell, Austin Sperry and Gabe Stewart.