Thunder Sign Former Pitt Forward

Austin finished with 9.3 points and 4.7 rebounds as a redshirt senior during the 2024-25 season, but excelled at creating havoc on defense with an ACC-best 1.65 blocks per game. He also shot well from behind the arc, making 50 3-pointers, and efficiently at 38.1%.

He was the only player in Division I with 50 blocked shots and 50 3-point field goals. He also led the ACC in both steals and blocks (STOCKS), with 86, as he added 35 steals this season.

Austin had his best game of the season in a comeback home win over North Carolina on Jan. 28, when he scored 15 points, shooting 5-for-7 from the field and 3-for-5 from behind the arc, plus tied his career-high with five blocks.

His most memorable moment of the season came when he made the game-winner buzzer beater 3-pointer in the overtime road win vs. Ohio State.

Austin was also the first Pitt player to ever make an All-ACC Defensive Team, making program history.

He played basketball at Winston-Salem Prep, winning the State Championship, and then played for Moravian Prep, before landing with High Point and redshirting during the 2020-21 season.

Austin would star as a freshman in the 2021-22 season, setting career-highs with 34.7 minutes per game, 14.4 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.2 blocks, 1.5 assists and 1.3 steals per game.

He earned Big South Co-Freshman of the Year, Big South All-Freshman Team and CollegeInsider.com Kyle Macy Freshman All-American honors and was an eight-time Big South Player of the Week honoree.

Austin had another strong season as a sophomore in the 2022-23 campaign, averaging 14.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.1 blocks, 1.3 assists and 1.1 steals per game, earning an All-Big South Honorable Mention.

He transferred to Pitt ahead of the 2023-24 season, where he started 31 of 33 games, but played much less, at just 22.6 minutes per game. He averaged 6.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game.

Austin came back his senior season last campaign and averaged 32.1 minutes per game, getting back to his production he saw in his first two seasons. He also shot 90.2% from the free throw line, by far his best mark in his collegiate career.

He finished his college career as one of just three players with at least 1,400 points, 700 rebounds, 200 three-point field goals, and 200 blocks in a career, along with Shane Battier of Duke (1997-01) and Jake Stephens of VMI and Chattanooga (2018-23).

Austin was also the first player in NCAA history that recorded three seasons with at least 50 3-point field goals and 50 blocks.

The Thunder took former Pitt center Steven Adams (2012-13) with the No. 13 overall pick in the First Round of the 2013 MLB Draft.