Northwest Missouri State head men’s basketball coach Ben McCollum has announced the signing of Xavier Kurth to a National Letter of Intent on Friday. Kurth, a senior at Lafayette High School in St. Joseph, Mo., will be a freshman for the Bearcats beginning in the 2014-15 academic year.

“We couldn’t be more excited about adding Xavier to our program,” said McCollum. “He is a tremendous young man that comes from a great family and a great high school program. He is a proven winner and he is an extremely unselfish kid. Xavier has a great feel for the game on the offensive and he is a very solid defender and he will only get better. He is the type of kid we want in our program and we feel he will be a great leader for us down the road.”

Kurth, a 6-2 small forward, was a first-team all-state performer for head coach Chris Neff. He was the St. Joseph News Press Player of the Year in 2013, earning first-team all-district, first-team all-city and first-team Midland Empire Conference honors. As a junior, Kurth averaged 19 points, six rebounds and two assists per game. Healso garnered all tournament honors at the Savannah Tournament and Kearney Tournament as a junior.

“We are also very happy to get another Chris Neff product (senior guard Bryston Williams),” McCollum said. “Coach Neff is one of the best high school coaches in the state and he has had a very impressive run at Lafayette.”

Kurth played AAU basketball for coach Matt Suther with MoKan. He has lettered in basketball every of high school and this year is serving as Student BodyPresident at Lafayette HS. He is undecided on his major.

— NWMSU Sports Information —