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  • Wake Forest Transfer Zach Keller Signs With Craig Smith's Utah Runnin' Utes Basketball

Wake Forest Transfer Zach Keller Signs With Craig Smith's Utah Runnin' Utes Basketball

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Basketball

Utah men's basketball head coach Craig Smith announced the signing of forward Zach Keller.

"We are excited to announce the addition of Zach to the Utah men's basketball team," said Smith. "Zach has competed at a high level and we think his best basketball is still ahead of him. He has a good size combined with a skill level that will elevate our team. His work ethic and tenacity will be a huge contributor to our success throughout the rest of his career."

Keller joins Keanu Reeves and Mason Madsen as the third signee since the season ended to go with David Katoa from the signing period this past November.

The 6-10 forward comes to Salt Lake City with some familiarity having played for the Utah Prospects. Keller played his first two season in Winston-Salem as a member of the Wake Forest program playing in 44 games with 14 starts.

Keller and the Utes got even more familiarized this past season when Utah faced off against the Demon Deacons in the opening round of the Charleston Classic where he scored 10 points on 5 rebounds with a block. He also saw action against his future teammate Madsen during his time at Wake Forest playing against Boston College twice in ACC play.

The Highlands Ranch, Colo., native opened his collegiate career against Fairfield in the season-opener, scoring 4 points with 3 steals. Keller recorded a career-high 11 points with 4 boards against La Salle down in the Jamaica Classic before making his first-career start against LMU. ­

Out of high school, Keller was a four-star recruit according to 247Sports and ESPN while On3 and Rivals had him listed as a three-start recruit. In addition, Keller was the top recruit out of Colorado according to 247Sports, ESPN and On3.

He led ThunderRidge High School to back-to-back Colorado 5A State Championships after leading the Grizzlies to a 25-3 overall record his senior year – which earned him Colorado 5A State Player of the Year and first-team all-state honors. Also earned all-state honorable mention his junior season when THS won its first of two state championships during his time there.

Keller was a McDonald's All-American and Circuit Academic All-American nominee his senior year while also participating in the annual National Basketball Players Association Top-100 Camp his junior year.