'Athletic and skilled': Bradley basketball lands touted 6-foot-10 junior college center

PEORIA — Corey Thomas is coming to the Bradley Braves, all 6-foot-10 of him.

One of the top-rated players in the NCAA transfer portal, according to JUCOrecruiting.com, the skilled center announced Sunday he was joining the Braves.

"Bradley has a very rich basketball culture," said Thomas, a Buford, Ga., native. "A great college town and small-town feel. Everybody supports the program in Peoria. BU has a great academic program. Great facilities, an arena that is just incredible.

"When I visited, the family feel was wonderful there. I really enjoyed getting to meet the guys on the team. I know the Missouri Valley Conference is a very good basketball league. BU thinks I'm the missing piece, and I want to prove them right."

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Who is Corey Thomas?

Thomas played last season for Cowley College of Arkansas City, Kansas, part of the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference. He played there for head coach Donnie Jackson, who was head coach at Northern Oklahoma College when Bradley recruited guard Luqman Lundy from his program there.

Thomas was a first-team all-KJCCC pick and averaged 12.2 points per game, 10.1 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.8 blocks.

"He's long, athletic, and a skilled 5 who has improved every year," Bradley coach Brian Wardle said. "I love his work ethic. He comes from a very good juco coach, a coach from whom we recruited Lundy from.

"Thomas fits the needs and wants we have at that 5 position. He can hit a 3, he'll go down low and his skill set fits us."

Thomas shot 37% from 3-point range in the 2023-24 season, and 60% from the field. His rebounding ranked 17th in the nation. Just a few years ago, he was a guard.

"I was 5-foot-9 in my freshman year in high school, and by the end of the year I was 6-3," Thomas said. "I grew 11 inches in four years of high school.

"I had to learn how to play (center) as I kept growing, learning a whole new position. But I brought my guard skills with me."

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Thomas had offers from 16 NCAA Division-I schools, and his short list included Bradley and Chattanooga. The incoming psychology major — who wants to train to help athletes' mental needs — says Bradley felt like it was best for his basketball career and post-basketball life.

"Thomas is a guy we've recruited for some time, he was at the top of our list for 5s and we really wanted him," Wardle said. "He's just a great kid and he's going to help us."

What comes next for Bradley?

Bradley has a scholarship — and maybe two — to burn yet. Wardle says the Braves are looking for a guard or forward in the open scholarship.

"We're looking for a younger player, probably a high school kid," Wardle said. "I love all the pieces we have."

Dave Eminian is the Journal Star sports columnist, and covers Bradley men's basketball, the Rivermen and Chiefs. He writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for pjstar.com. He can be reached at 686-3206 or deminian@pjstar.com. Follow him on X.com @icetimecleve.