College basketball: Brunswick alum Quinn Barnett transferring to Middle Tennessee State

Brunswick High graduate Quinn Barnett is fulfilling a dream. Named 2023-24 Gazette MVP in boys basketball as a high school senior, the 6-foot-4, 190-pound Barnett entered the transfer portal after two successful seasons at Division II Walsh University and will play for D-I Middle Tennessee State University as a college junior. "It's always been my dream," Barnett said Monday. "In middle school, I always thought, 'I want to do that one day.' I've had a dream of playing at that level for the longest time." Barnett, who chose the Blue Raiders over Washington State, Indiana State, Central Michigan, Western Michigan, Bowling Green, Akron and a number of other schools, had several reasons for picking Middle Tennessee State. Blue Raiders assistant Eric Wilson was on staff at Presbyterian College in South Carolina when Barnett's older brother, Marquis, played there, and the family of Marquis Barnett's fiancee lives 10 minutes from the campus, which is located in Murfreesboro. "It was a great location, they had a lot of nice facilities, I like the way they play and I got along with the coaches real well," Quinn Barnett said. "It checked a lot of boxes and I felt comfortable there." Barnett, who as a senior had Brunswick on the verge of a D-I state tournament berth until eventual big-school champion St. Ignatius rallied to win their regional final, is coming off a sophomore season that saw him help Walsh to a 29-4 overall record and Great Midwest Athletic Conference title. The 19-year-old averaged a team-high 14.6 points while shooting .525 from the field, .414 on 3-pointers and .697 at the line. Barnett added 4.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.6 steals as the Cavaliers qualified for the D-II NCAA Tournament, where they won two games before falling 87-70 to Michigan Tech in the Midwest Regional final. As a freshman, he averaged 9.5 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists. "I loved playing at Walsh," said Barnett, who will finish the semester there while pursuing a degree in sports management. "I only had two D-II offers coming out of high school, but they looked at me. My first year was a little rough, but we got some guys locked in this summer. Everyone was close and got along." At MTSU, which is coached by Nick McDevitt and coming off a 17-15 season, Barnett should have a solid opportunity to start. The Blue Raiders, a member of Conference USA along with teams like Liberty, Western Kentucky, Sam Houston State and the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), were 11-9 in league play but lost their starting backcourt and backups at shooting guard and small forward. Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4046 or rnoland@medina-gazette.com.