EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – SIUE Head Coach Brian Barone has added a national champion to his roster, adding Ring Malith (Twic, South Sudan) for the 2024-25 season.

Malith, a 6-foot, 9-inch, 180-pound guard/forward combo comes to SIUE from NJCAA National Champion Barton Community College in Great Bend, Kansas. Barton finished the season 36-1, winning its last 27 consecutive games.

Malith scored 22 points and added five rebounds in Barton's Championship game win over Triton College.

"I'm excited to get to SIUE because I believe in Coach Barone and the coaching staff," Malith said. "They are committed to winning championships, just like I am. At SIUE, I will become the best player I can be, while competing for OVC championships. SIUE is a great situation where I can develop and grow my game."

Last season at Barton, Malith started all 37 games while averaging 12.2 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. He also added 1.2 assists, 1.2 steals per game and 19 blocks for the season.  Malith knocked down better than 47 percent of his field goals, including shooting 38 percent from three-point range.

"Ring's impact as a student-athlete will be immediately felt at SIUE on the basketball court and in the community," Barone said. "Ring comes from a national championship program at Barton Community College, where he was a major contributor. Ring has an elite and unique skill set that we will be able to utilize all over the floor. Ring is a great young man from a great family that will be embraced by our community."

He appeared in 32 games as a freshman in 2022-23 where he averaged 6.3 points 3.3 rebounds per game.

Malith is the third member of Barone's 2024 recruiting class. He joins Cham Okey and JaMir Price who were previously announced.

SIUE finished the 2023-24 season at 17-16 overall, marking consecutive winning seasons for the first time since transitioning to Division I.