Swanton-Rodger earned the penultimate scholarship spot on Willard’s roster for the upcoming season.
Maryland men’s basketball picked up a commitment from Canadian class of 2022 power forward Caelum Swanton-Rodger, the team announced on Thursday.
Swanton-Rodger is an unranked recruit per the 247Sports Composite. Standing at six-foot-10, the Calgary, Alberta native played for the Edge School and on the AAU circuit with Uplay. Uplay is a program that has had players such as projected 2022 NBA lottery pick Shaedon Sharpe, Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and New York Knick RJ Barrett among others.
“Maryland is a perfect fit for me and I am excited to become a Terp. Coach Willard and Coach Billmeier have been great during the recruiting process and I can’t wait to be a part of the program they are building at Maryland. I’m going to put in the work to put on a show come game day,” Swanton-Rodger said in a release.
Swanton-Rodger has experience at the national level, playing for Canada’s U16 team at the 2019 FIBA Americas Championship. He only averaged 1.8 points per game in four appearances in that event, but he has since received recognition nationally. Swanton-Rodger participated in the 2022 BioSteel All Canadian Game, scoring four points and grabbing seven boards against some of Canada’s best on April 3. On the Marquee Hoops Circuit, per the release, Swanton-Rodger averaged 21 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks per game.
Maryland head coach Kevin Willard now has just one scholarship spot remaining to round out his roster for the 2022-23 season.Charlotte transfer guard Jahmir Young, Georgetown transfer guard Donald Carey, Seton Hall transfer guard Jahari Long and three-star freshman forward Noah Batchelor are Maryland’s other additions heading into the 2022-23 season.
It is unclear if Swanton-Rodger will become an impact player in Willard’s rotation immediately. At a minimum, though, Swanton-Rodger should provide both good size and depth to a frontcourt that was previously lacking both on the bench.
“Caelum is a great addition for our incoming class,” Willard said, per the release. “He is a high-motor center who is extremely active around the rim and on the defensive end. He’s very effective in pick-and-roll situations because of his athleticism around the basket.”