Anthony Grant’s son joins Dayton’s 2023-24 roster as preferred walk-on

Bishop Fenwick grad CJ Napier also joins team
Dayton huddles before a game against UNLV on Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022, at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nev. David Jablonski/Staff

Dayton huddles before a game against UNLV on Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022, at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nev. David Jablonski/Staff

The Dayton Flyers announced the addition of 11 players — seven scholarship players and four preferred walk-ons — to the 2023-24 roster on Thursday.

All but two of them have been previously reported. The latest additions are preferred walk-ons Makai Grant, the youngest son of head coach Anthony Grant, and Bishop Fenwick graduate CJ Napier, a 6-foot-6 grad transfer from Ohio Northern.

Grant, a 6-1 guard, joins fellow 2023 Chaminade Julienne graduate Evan Dickey, a 6-3 guard who started for two state semifinal teams, among a group of four preferred walk-ons. The other player in that group is Will Maxwell, a 6-4 guard from Oakwood High School who was a two-time Division II All-Ohio selection.

Grant appeared in 27 games as a senior at CJ and averaged 1.8 points and 1.4 rebounds.

Napier, who’s from Miamisburg, started 73 games in four seasons at Ohio Northern. He and averaged 17.1 points a game in his career and scored 1,279 points. He averaged 16.3 points as a senior. He had one more season of eligibility because the NCAA did not count the 2020-21 season against anyone’s eligibility.

Dayton also officially announced the addition of four transfers (Enoch Cheeks, Javon Bennett, Isaac Jack and Nate Santos) and three freshmen (Marvel Allen, Petras Padegimas and Jaiun Simon).

In other news from the UD press release:

• Darren Hertz is now UD’s Assistant Coach/Director of Program Development.

• Sean Damaska, who was the director of basketball operations last season, is now an assistant coach/recruiting coordinator. The NCAA allowed Division I programs to add two assistant coaches this year. Damaska and Jermaine Henderson, who was hired in May, are the new assistants.

• Leron Black, who was a graduate assistant the last two seasons, will stay with the program as the video coordinator.

• UD is now looking to hire a new director of basketball operations.

• John Brannen has left the program after one season as program analyst and senior special assistant, and Tyler Carter has moved on after two seasons as a graduate assistant.

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