By ISU Sports Information
NORMAL – Illinois State head men’s basketball coach Dan Muller announced Wednesday the addition of 6-foot-6, 190-pound guard/forward Matt Chastain to the Redbird men’s basketball program.
A 2016 graduate of LeRoy High School, Chastain initially signed with Loyola Chicago where he played three games for the Ramblers in 2016 before suffering a season-ending knee injury.
Chastain has enrolled at Illinois State as a redshirt freshman walk-on who cannot play in games or travel with the team during the 2017-18 season per NCAA Division I transfer rules. He will, however, be permitted to practice with the team and sit on the bench during games. Chastain will have three seasons of playing eligibility remaining beginning with the 2018-19 season.
“We are very excited to add Matt to our program,” Muller said. “We recruited Matt out of high school, and although he took a different path, it is nice to have him join our program. Having a year to sit out while getting healthy will be very beneficial to Matt and his development, and we look forward to helping him reach his potential on and off the court.”
A LeRoy, Illinois native, Chastain averaged 3.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 0.7 blocks per game, while hitting 55.6 percent (5-for-9) of his field goal attempts in three games with Loyola Chicago during the 2016-17 campaign. He registered season highs with five points, five rebounds and two blocks against Indiana University Northwest (Nov. 13) before going down with a season-ending injury versus Eureka (Nov. 14).
In 2015-16, Chastain averaged 26 points, eight rebounds, three blocks and just under three steals per game while leading LeRoy to a 28-5 record and the Illinois Class 1A state title. The 2016 Pantagraph Player of the Year, Chastain finished his high school career as LeRoy’s career leader in points (2,081), rebounds (709), blocked shots (213) and dunks (99) while also racking up 227 steals and 235 assists. Chastain was instrumental in LeRoy’s state championship run. He finished with 20 points, 14 rebounds, six blocks and five steals in LeRoy’s semifinal win. Chastain followed that up with 21 points and an assist on the title-winning basket in a victory over Leo to earn the state championship.
For his efforts, Chastain was a Class 1A/2A All-State First-Team selection by the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association (IBCA) and a Class 1A All-State First-Team honoree by the Chicago Sun-Times. Chastain was also an All-State Third-Team selection (all classes) by the Chicago Tribune. Additionally, Chastain competed for the Illinois Irish AAU team.
