TWIN FALLS, Idaho - During the early signing period, Ben Thornbrue, Jalen Lyn and Nathan Ahner have all made their decisions on where they will play in the 2026-2027 season.
Thornbrue signed with Bradley University, Lyn with Middle Tennessee State and Ahner at Oakland University.
Thornbrue, a red-shirt sophomore from Hillsboro, Ore., is averaging 10.5 points and seven rebounds per game for the Golden Eagles. Bradley University competes in the Missouri Valley Conference. They are currently 3-3 overall this season and finished last season 28-9 where they competed in the 2025 NIT, making it to the quarterfinals.
Lyn, a sophomore from Queens, N.Y., is averaging 15 points, 3.8 rebounds and two assists per game. He was just named Scenic West Athletic Conference Player of the Week for his play this past weekend. Middle Tennessee State competes in Conference USA. The Blue Raiders are currently 4-2 this season. In 2024-25, they were 22-12 overall, losing in triple overtime in the opening round of the NIT.
Ahner, a sophomore from Copenhagen, Denmark, is averaging 13.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.2 blocks per game for CSI. Oakland competes in the Horizon League. The Golden Grizzlies finished 11-9 in conference play last season and are 2-5 overall this season but faced then Michigan (ranked #7 at the time), Purdue (ranked #1 at the time) and Houston (ranked #1 at the time).
The Golden Eagles are on a seven-game winning streak and ranked 13th in the country. They host Northeastern JC and South Puget Sound this upcoming weekend in the ICCU Invitational.