FORT MYERS, Fla.- Florida SouthWestern State guard Berrick JeanLouis has decided on his post-FSW home, signing with Hall of Famer Rick Pitino and the Iona Gaels on National Signing Day Wednesday.  

 

JeanLouis returned to Fort Myers to play for the Bucs as a sophomore after spending his freshman season for WAC Champions New Mexico State.  He was a Second Team All-Conference performer for FSW, finishing second on the team in scoring, averaging 12.9 points per game while shooting 48% from the field.  He saw action in 28 games for the Bucs, drawing 19 starts and playing 25.5 minutes per night.  An electric athlete, JeanLouis scored in double figures 21 times on the year, including three 20+ point performances.  He scored a career high 25 in a win over ASA Miami in early December. An elite defender, JeanLouis was often tasked with checking the opponents top threat and was more often than not, successful in neutralizing him, helping the Bucs to one of the top statistical defenses in the country, allowing just 67.7 points per game and 38% shooting on the year.  

 

JeanLouis helped lead the Bucs to a 29-2 record this season, including winning their third straight Suncoast Conference Championship with a perfect 12-0 record.  FSW spent the final six weeks of the year as the #1 ranked team in the country and earned their third straight trip to the NJCAA National Tournament before it was cancelled due to COVID-19.  

 

He heads to New York to play for Iona and newly hired Hall of Fame Coach Rick Pitino.  Pitino arrived to New Rochelle with a resume a mile long that includes being the only coach in NCAA history to lead three teams to the Final Four as well as a pair of National Championships with Kentucky and Louisville.  The Gaels are looking for Pitino to return them to the top of the MAAC standings where they were in 2018 during their last NCAA Tournament appearance.  This season they struggled to a 12-17 record and a seventh place finish in conference play. 

 

JeanLouis will join a loaded recruiting class for Iona which includes eight players so far.  Along with JeanLouis, three of Pitino's signees are ranked as Juco Top 100 prospects to lead a class ranked #1 in the MAAC by 247sports. 

 

JeanLouis is one of seven NCAA Division I signees on the Bucs' 2019-2020 roster.  That list includes Keon Ellis (Alabama), Jermaine Marshall (Akron), Simeon Kirkland (UAB), Ralph Bissainthe (Central Michigan), De'Lazarus Keys (Texas A&M-Corpus Christi), and Sebastian Guitian (South Carolina State).