GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Nick Gagel has committed to attend Tusculum College and play basketball for the Pioneers announced TC men's coach Jim Boone.

Gagel, 6-0, 170-pound guard from Louisville, Ky., comes to Tusculum after playing 18 games last season at NCAA Division I Florida Atlantic University. He saw spot time off the bench, including 19 minutes in a start against Sun Belt Conference Champion and NCAA Tournament participant Western Kentucky University.

Gagel had a phenomenal prep career at Jeffersontown High School where he was coached by Jeff Morrow. He scored 1,277 points with the Chargers, while establishing school records with 210 three-point field goals and shooting 49 percent from three-point territory. Jeffersontown went 81-17 in his three years as a starter. In his final prep campaign, Gagel averaged 15.8 points, 4.1 assists and three rebounds per game and was named the Kentucky Association of Basketball Coaches (KABC) 2008 Region 7 Player of the Year and the Region 7 Tournament Most Valuable Player. The Associated Press named him to the Kentucky High School Boys' All-State Team in 2008, one of just 21 players in Kentucky to be recognized by the AP.

"We are so pleased that Nick has chosen Tusculum College to continue his academic and athletic career," said Coach Boone. "In every way, Nick represents what we search for in a player, a student and most importantly, a person. He is obviously an outstanding player that has had great success, but as a good a player as Nick is, he is a better person."

Gagel scored 16 points in the 2008 Ohio-Kentucky All-Star Game, earning him game MVP honors. He also won the three-point shooting contest during the Ohio-Kentucky All-Star Game. For his efforts, he was a 2008 McDonalds All-American nominee, while also earning a spot on the prestigious Louisville Invitational Tournament All-Tournament Team. The LIT is one of the most highly regarded high school boys' tournaments in the country.

He helped lead J'Town to four straight regional championship appearances, including wins in the 2006 and 2008 games earning trips to the Kentucky State Sweet 16. The 2006 squad won the State Championship. Gagel earned All-Region 7 and All-District 28 honors three times. Following graduation, J'Town created the Nick Gagel Leadership Award in recognition of leadership.

He also starred on the prep diamond for the Chargers where he was named his team's best pitcher and top defensive player three times.

Gagel earned numerous academic honors, as he graduated in the top 10 of his class with a 3.7 grade point average. He was a three-year member of both the Beta Club and the National Honor Society. He won the Celebration of Young Poets contest three times, was a named to the honor roll on four occasions and was the 2008 Kentucky High School Athletic Association Academic Scholarship recipient.

Tusculum is coming off one of its best seasons in school history. The Pioneers posted a 20-11 record, while advancing to the NCAA Division II Tournament for the second time in school history. TC returns six of its top eight players from a year ago, including All-America guard Kyle Moore, who was named the 2009 South Atlantic Conference Player of the Year.

Tusculum College, located in Greeneville, Tenn., is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church, USA and is a NCAA Division II member of the South Atlantic Conference which is comprised of nine colleges and universities in Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina.

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