Trae Hannibal to join LSU basketball team as second Murray State transfer

LSU men’s basketball coach Matt McMahon is faced with the task of starting his roster from scratch. On Friday, Mwani Wilkinson and Alex Fudge became the 10th and 11th LSU players to enter the NCAA transfer portal.

To help replace the lost talent, McMahon has again secured one of his former Murray State via the portal.

Combo guard Trae Hannibal has signed with LSU, joining ex-Racers backcourt mate Justice Hill in Baton Rouge.

The 6-foot-2 Hannibal averaged 9.2 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.5 assists while shooting 51.9% from the floor this past season at Murray State, where he played for one season after playing two year in the SEC at South Carolina.

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BATON ROUGE – LSU men’s basketball coach Matt McMahon continues to reshape the LSU Men’s Basketball roster for 2022-23 with the addition of a second guard from Murray State, Trae Hannibal.

Hannibal is a 6-2 guard from Elliott, South Carolina.

Hannibal averaged 9.2 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.5 assists while playing an average of 21.9 minutes per game for the Racers in 2021-22, appearing in all 34 games with one start. He made 108-of-208 field goal attempts (51.9%) with 40 steals.

He was part of a 31-win season at Murray State as the Racers reached the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament after a 20-0 championship year in the Ohio Valley Conference.

Hannibal was in double figures in both NCAA Tournament games, scoring 18 points in the win over San Francisco and 10 points against St. Peter’s. For the tournament, Hannibal was 8-of-16 from the field and 12-of-14 from the free throw line with 14 rebounds. In the regular season, he scored 20 points against Southeast Missouri and 19 points against Middle Tennessee State.

“We are extremely excited to welcome Trae Hannibal to the LSU family,” said Coach McMahon. “He had an outstanding sophomore season at Murray State. When he decided that he wanted to make a change, he was flooded with offers. We wanted to make sure we had the opportunity to coach him here at LSU.

“He is an explosive guard who will impact our program at both ends of the court. We love his ability to attack off the dribble, his unselfishness, and his aggressiveness on defense. We look forward to his arrival in Baton Rouge this summer.”

Hannibal played the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons at South Carolina, averaging 4.0 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 2019-20 and 6.0 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.0 assists in the 2020-21 season.

In the 2020 season he had four games of double-digit scoring including back-to-back 15-point games against Missouri and Georgia where he hit a combined 12-of-14 shots from the field.

Hannibal had a strong high school career at Hartsville High School where he was the state’s Class 4A co-Player of the Year in 2019 and was also chosen POY by the Florence Morning News. He averaged 26.8 points per game in his senior season and finished his career with over 1,500 points. His career concluded with a 62-point performance. He earned all-state honors as a junior, averaging 16.6 points, 7.7 rebounds and 5.2 assists.

Hannibal joins Murray State teammate Justice Hill and Northwestern State’s Kendal Coleman who have signed papers with LSU after entering the transfer portal.