Men’s Basketball Signs Demitri Gardner

BRONX, N.Y. – Demitri Gardner, an honorable mention All-American at the Division II level, has signed on to join Head Coach Mike Magpayo and the Fordham Rams for the 2025-26 season.
 
Gardner comes to the Bronx after three seasons at Augusta University, where he was a 2025 Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) Honorable Mention All-American and NABC All-Region selection.
 
“Demitri “Meech” Gardner is a dynamic scorer from an excellent D2 program in Augusta University,” said Magpayo. “Demitri brings dynamic scoring ability and size at the guard position. He was an extremely efficient player from all levels and will bring veteran experience as a graduating senior.”
 
Gardner, a 6-foot-4 guard, was named to the First Team All-Peach Belt Conference after leading the team and ranking 12^th in the nation in scoring at 23.2 points per game in 2024-25.  He reached double figures in all 30 of his appearances, scoring 20 or more 24 times with two efforts of at least 32 points.  Gardner shot 51.1% from the field and connected on 36.4% of his attempts from beyond the arc.  He also shot 81.4% from the charity stripe on just over five attempts per outing.  Gardner posted two double-doubles, pulling down 11 rebounds apiece against Florida Southern and Virginia Union in November.  On the season, Gardner ranked third on the team in both rebounds (4.1) and assists (1.4) per game.
 
This past season, Gardner helped lead Augusta to a 19-11 overall record and an appearance in the NCAA Division II Tournament.
 
Before the season officially started, Gardner dropped 22 points in an exhibition game at Clemson.
 
In 2023-24, Gardner led the Jaguars in scoring with 17.5 points per game on his way to Second Team All-PBC honors.  He reached double figures 27 times with eight showings of 20 or more points.  He was lights-out from long range, shooting 44.2% from deep (50-113) in addition to converting at an 83.2% clip from the free throw line.
 
As a freshman in 2022-23, Gardner started 13 of his 33 appearances for an Augusta team that went 27-6 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
 
Before college, Gardner was the Virginia 4A Player of the Year at Handley High School, where he averaged 25.5 points and 10.1 rebounds per game as a senior on his way to First Team All-State honors.