TAHLEQUAH -- Northeastern State head men's basketball coach Ja Havens announced Thursday the signing of Tylor Arnold of Pryor, who will join the program with two years of eligibility. 

Arnold was initially signed out of Pryor High School by Havens and played for him at East Central (Ada, Okla.) for three years.  

"Tylor brings a high level of toughness and intelligence to our program, and we are thrilled that he will be a RiverHawk," said Havens.  "He has a great feel for the game, is a great passer, has a knack for getting in the lane and finishing around the rim, and brings a great knowledge of our style of play. He has proven himself at the college level, and he does whatever it takes to help his team win."

"Tylor is also a great leader and hard worker who will impact our program in multiple positive ways, both on and off the court."

After redshirting his true freshman season, Arnold started in 70 of 74 games and averaged just over 11 points per game.  As a senior academically, Arnold was second on ECU's roster with 12.1 points per game and averaged 3.7 rebounds.

Arnold is a finalist for the Distinguished George Nigh Award, given to East Central's Top Graduate and the 2021 Distinguished Graduate of the ECU Stonecipher School of Business.  He was a member of the ECU President's Honor Roll for four years and was a Great American Conference Elite Scholar-Athlete.   Arnold is on the top-10 list for career minutes played, career steals, and career throw percentage on the basketball court at East Central. 

Before attending East Central, Arnold left Pryor as its All-Time leading scorer (1,746 points) and was a consensus All-State Class 5A selection.  As a senior, he averaged 25 points, seven rebounds, three assists, and three steals per game and was named the Metro Lakes Conference Player of the Year.  In the classroom, Arnold was Pryor High School's 2017 Class Valedictorian, a member of the Oklahoma Basketball Coaches Association Academic All-State team, and an Oklahoma Academic Scholar his senior season.