Ball State picks up Northern Kentucky transfer Tayler Persons

Ball State head coach James Whitford seems to be going to newer strategy to improve his team - the transfer route. Whitford brought in Bradley transfer Nate Wells this offseason and Youngstown State transfer Ryan Weber last offseason, and now Northern Kentucky transfer Tayler Persons is joining those two as Cardinals.

Persons announced his decision on his Twitter account Friday evening:

I am very excited to announce that I will continue my academic and basketball career at Ball State University! #chirpchirp

— Tayler Persons (@TaylerPersons8) May 15, 2015

Persons visited Purdue and the Boilermakers extended a scholarship offer. The 6-foot-2, 230 pound point guard also received an offer from Xavier and was supposed to make a visit this weekend.

The Kokomo, Indiana native averaged thirteen points, four assists and nearly five rebounds per game as a freshman for the Norse. He was named the Atlantic Sun Conference's Freshman of the Year and was also named to the conference's 2nd team.

In high school, Persons was one of the best players in the state of Indiana. He was named to the honorable Indiana All-Star Team his senior year after averaging over 18 points per game.

The scholarship opened up during the middle of the week, when Rashaun Richardson left the team to go to junior college. While Persons will have to sit out the upcoming season, he'll have three years of eligibility remaining. With just 12 wins total over the last two seasons, Ball State fans hope that this addition will help to turn the program around.