PROVO, Utah – BYU men’s basketball coach Mark Pope announced today that Richard Harward, Wyatt Lowell and Trey Stewart have signed financial aid agreements to play for the Cougars.
Harward and Lowell are transfers from Utah Valley and will sit out the 2019-20 season due to NCAA rules. Stewart graduates from American Fork High School this month and will serve a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in England before enrolling at BYU.
Harward, a 6-foot-11 center, emerged as one of UVU’s best post players during the second half of 2018-19 as he averaged 10.8 points, 7.1 rebounds and shot 67.9 percent from the field in 20.5 minutes of action during the last 18 games of the season.
“Richard Harward has some of the best ‘insides’ in college basketball,” Pope said. “He welcomes challenges and adversity and has an incredible desire to rise above it. He has developed into a top-level rim protector and rebounder and brings an enormous physicality to the game. And with an efficiency of 1.172 points per possession, he turned out to be one of the most forceful and skilled offensive post players and passers in the country under the guidance of Chris Burgess.”
For the season, Harward averaged 6.9 points, 4.9 rebounds and shot 63.8 percent from the field while posting three double-doubles and season highs of 19 points, 16 rebounds and five blocks. Harward has two seasons of eligibility remaining.
Harward prepped at Orem High School where he earned first-team all-state honors while leading the Tigers to a 20-6 record and run to the semifinals of the 2015 4A Utah State Championships. He averaged 13.6 points, 8.9 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.6 blocks as a senior in 2014-15. Following high school, Harward served a mission in Australia. His older brother Ian played college basketball at BYU and BYU-Hawaii.
Lowell, a 6-foot-10 forward, comes to BYU after being named the 2018-19 WAC Freshman of the Year. He led all WAC freshmen in scoring (5.4), rebounding (3.0) and steals (0.5) during league play. For the season Lowell averaged 4.6 points, 2.6 rebounds and shot 37.6 percent from 3-point range.
“I’m not sure if Wyatt Lowell is going to be a two guard, a wing or a power forward,” Pope said. “What I do know is he’s a 6-10 baller with a silky stroke and a high basketball IQ who loves this game and has dreams of accomplishing great things. After shooting nearly 40 percent from the 3-point line and garnering WAC freshman of the year honors, he has laid the foundation for a highly decorated career that will translate into a bunch of wins for our program.”
The Gilbert, Arizona, native posted season highs of 14 points, six rebounds, two blocks and three steals. Lowell also hit four 3-point field goals four times, including a 4 of 4 outing against New Mexico State. He has three seasons of eligibility remaining.
As a senior at Williams Field High School in 2015-16, Lowell averaged 24.3 points, 10.4 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.0 blocks while shooting 40.0 percent from beyond the arc. He served a mission in Minnesota before playing his freshman season at UVU.
Stewart originally signed with UVU in November 2018 before being released from his NLI in the spring. The 6-foot-3 guard prepped at American Fork High School where he was named second-team all-state in 2018-19 by the Deseret News and USA Today. He averaged 14.8 points and 3.7 assists while helped American Fork win the 6A Utah State Championship and finish with a 24-3 record.
“All I have to say about Trey Stewart is ‘Dunk you very much!’ This young man has a beautiful way of introducing himself to the competition,” Pope said. “Certainly, current and past great dunkers like Gavin Baxter, Yoeli Childs, Brandon Davies, Mike Hall and Travis Hansen have left their mark on the rims in the Marriott Center. But Trey Stewart might take it to another level. Combine that with an innocent, joyful approach to this game, his ability to make shots and guard anybody and everybody on the floor simultaneously, this kid is going to be a star when he rolls back into town after his mission.”
In addition to earning second-team all-state honors, Stewart was named to the Deseret News All-Region 4 Team and the Daily Herald All-Valley Team. As a junior at American Fork, Stewart averaged 11.0 points, 4.0 assists, and 3.0 rebounds and 1.5 steals and earned all-state honorable mention and all-region recognition.
Stewart, whose father Ray is an assistant coach for the BYU women’s basketball team, plans to serve a mission before enrolling at BYU.