New head basketball coaches Brittany Young and Nate James have quickly made a priority of bringing local talent back to Clarksville through APSU basketball.
Former Oregon State Beaver and Northwest High School star Tariq Silver announced his decision to return to the Queen City on April 27. Silver, who spent his previous three collegiate seasons at Tallahassee Community College and Eastern Michigan, averaged 22 points as a senior in high school.
The Beavers were crowned Pac-12 Tournament Champions in 2021 and were among the final eight teams in the NCAA Tournament. Silver joins Charlotte transfer Caleb Stone-Carrawell, former College of Charleston forward Cam Copeland and Drew Calderon as members of James’ first APSU recruiting class.
“Tariq is a big-time shooter who has proven he can hit clutch shots on the biggest state,” James said in a release. “Playing for Oregon State, he was part of a Pac-12 championship team who made a remarkable run during this past season’s NCAA Tournament. Tariq is certainly not afraid of the moment. I’m excited for him to come back to Clarksville and bring the needed experience, leadership and scoring to help Austin Peay win OVC Championships.”
Just two days later, former Rossview High School standout Karle Pace made public her decision to transfer from conference foe Eastern Illinois to Brittany Young and the Governors. Pace won a total of 101 games across her high school career and was an All-OVC First Team selection in 2019-20.
The guard scored over 1,000 points with the Panthers, and finished her senior season averaging just over 12 points, three rebounds and three assists a game. EIU was 11-16 in 2020-21 and finished eighth in the conference.
She is the first Clarksville-native on the women’s basketball roster since fellow Hawk Jemiah Harrison transferred into the program in 2018.
