Men’s Basketball: Central Michigan transfer Zeigler commits to Pitt

The Pitt men’s basketball team added a key piece to its roster on Saturday when Central… The Pitt men’s basketball team added a key piece to its roster on Saturday when Central Michigan transfer Trey Zeigler decided to become a Panther.

“Just committed to the University of Pittsburgh! #hail2pitt,” Zeigler tweeted on Saturday.

Zeigler’s father, Ernie Zeigler, was fired as the head coach of Central Michigan this spring, prompting Trey to leave the university as well. A four-star guard in the class of 2010, Zeigler chose Pitt over several high-level schools, including Duke and UCLA.

Because his father left Central Michigan, Zeigler filed a waiver with the NCAA that would allow him to play the 2012-2013 season. Most transfers have to sit out a year at their new school. If Zeigler can play next season, he’ll be a junior and have two full years of eligibility. If the NCAA doesn’t grant his waiver, he’ll redshirt a year and still have two years to play for Pitt.

Zeigler joins an incoming recruiting class with five-star center Steven Adams, four-star guard James Robinson and three-star guard Chris Jones. He fills a gap on Pitt’s roster left when redshirt freshman point guard Isaiah Epps decided to transfer closer to home for family-related reasons.

Without Zeigler, Pitt’s 2012 recruiting class is ranked No. 13 in the country by ESPN.

Zeigler, a 6-foot-5, 203-pound shooting guard, averaged 15.8 points and 6.7 rebounds for Central Michigan this season after putting up 16.3 points per game as a freshman. He ended his sophomore year 26th on Central Michigan’s all-time scoring list, already having passed the 1,000-point mark with 1,011 points.

He was a third-team All-Middle Atlantic Conference selection as a sophomore and finished second in the MAC Freshman of the Year as a rookie.

In 2010, Zeigler chose Central Michigan over major schools such as Arizona, Duke, Michigan, Michigan State, UCLA and Oklahoma. He was ranked as the No. 4 shooting guard in his class and the No. 28 player overall.