Upson-Lee's Fagan asks for release from Middle Tennessee State

By Michael A. Lough

The Sports Report

centralgasports@gmail.com
 

          In September of 2017, Tye Fagan committed to Middle Tennessee State, and then signed with the Blue Raiders about two months later.

          Less than two weeks after Fagan led Upson-Lee to a second straight state title and second straight undefeated season, his future head coach left MTSU for Mississippi.

          And now Fagan has decided that perhaps Middle Tennessee State without Kermit Davis isn’t for him.

          Fagan announced on Twitter Friday afternoon that he is asking for his release.

          “Thank you MTSU for welcoming me in with open arms and giving me the opportunity to pursue my college career. In recruiting, I think it’s a rare and special thing to not only fall in love with a school, but a city as well. “With that being said, I can’t tell you how much it pains me to say this, but I have asked for my release from MTSU.”

          The Blue Raiders hired Nick McDevitt on Monday to replace Davis, who had been at MTSU since 2002-03 and had a 332-188 (63.8 percent) record.

          Fagan has been one of the state’s top high school players the past few years, and is considered a three-star prospect. He is the 2017-18 Class 4A player of the year in Georgia for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Sandy’s Spiel, and the Class 4A South player of the year by the Georgia Athletic Coaches Association.

          Fagan, a lean 6-4 wing, averaged 25 points, 4.6 assists, 7.3 rebounds, and 2.4 steals a game in helping the Knights to 63 straight wins.

          According to Rivals.com and 247Sports.com, Fagan was also recruited by College of Charleston, Arkansas State, East Carolina, South Florida, and Florida Gulf Coast. He received an offer from Georgia and former head coach Mark Fox.

          Fagan weighed in to the Murfreesboro Daily News Journal last week on Davis’s departure.

          “First thing that hit my mind when I saw it was, it’s a business,” Fagan said. “So from understanding the reasons why he did it, it didn’t upset me or I didn’t have any deranged emotions about it. It was fine. I was good.”

          “As far as me committing, (Davis) was a big part of it. I had a lot of trust in him. We built a great relationship. I just felt like I’d love to play for him.”