Prospect Update: Keaton Mitchell (2019)
Truman State has a habit of coming into Iowa and plucking some of the best talent in the state. Six-foot-8 center Keaton Mitchell is the most recent Iowan to commit to the Missouri D2.
Currently ranked as a top-25 prospect in Iowa’s 2019 class, Mitchell is a guy that burst onto the scene last March when he was playing at the state tournament for 1A Wapello.
He ascended quickly after that, in both our prospect rankings and on the recruiting trail.
“Being at state was one of the best opportunities I had, and I had a couple schools talking to me then. And going out on the AAU circuit, I had a lot of schools watching me,”said Mitchell. “And then having such a good team (Barnstormers 17U) and performing at all those places around the country really bumped my recruitment up.”
The long and athletic big-man chose Truman State over offers from Upper Iowa and Kirkwood. He’ll take an official visit to Truman State “in a month or so.” He’s been there twice already, for a camp and an unofficial visit.
“I chose Truman State because it’s pretty close to home. And I felt like with the new recruiting class that they have, and the new coaching staff they have, I’m trusting them,” said Mitchell.
“I really like the campus, I like the feel of it; how it’s kind of a bigger school feel. And it’s in a bigger town, there’s about 20,000 people there, plus the students. So, I liked how it’s kind of a bigger school feel.”
What Bulldogs fans can expect, is a big-man with some length that will man the post, but also who is working to develop as a stretch-center.
He’ll be showing off his newly developed skills this winter while running the show for Wapello.
“I’ve really been working on my 3-point shot and my ball-handling,” said Mitchell. “We lost all of our starters except for me. So, I’ve been working on being a guy that can pop out and hit a 3; that way people can’t predict what I’m going to do.”
And twelve months from now, he’ll be getting set for for his first season with the Bulldogs.
“Coach (Jeff) Horner and I talked about it a little bit. We talked about maybe me red-shirting,” said Mitchell. “But if I go out there and perform like like he knows I can, then I could end up playing right away.”
Keaton Mitchell is ranked by Prep Hoops as a top 30 prospect in his class.