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Transfer portal forward Ja’Von Benson is joining the roster of Chris Beard and the Ole Miss Rebels, On3 reported on Friday. Benson is the sixth player to come to Oxford out of the portal this offseason.

Benson suited up with the South Carolina Gamecocks for three seasons to begin his collegiate career, but he only appeared in 16 games during that span. Last season, he made his way to the Hampton Pirates where he saw action in 32 of the team’s 33 games en route to a 9-24 overall record.

The forward was somewhat of a bright spot on that team, however, averaging 7.2 points per game and 5.3 rebounds per game, both of which were career-highs. He earned 15 starts a year ago with the Pirates, and even though his team was not wildly successful on the hardwood, he should compliment some of Ole Miss’ new additions nicely this season.

Beard has already added the talents of transfers Mikeal Brown-Jones, Malik Dia, Dre Davis, Davon Burnes, and Sean Pedulla this offseason, and they will join some key returners like forward Jaemyn Brakefield and guard Jaylen Murray.

Ole Miss failed to reach the NCAA Tournament in Beard’s first season at the helm in 2023-24, but the extra time off has seemingly paid dividends in reaping the benefits of the transfer market. Beard has an 11-5 career record in the Big Dance, including a Final Four appearance with the Texas Tech Red Raiders in 2019.

OXFORD, Miss. — Ole Miss men’s basketball received a commitment Friday from Ja’Von Benson, a former Hampton and South Carolina forward. This is the sixth transfer portal commit for head coach Chris Beard and the Rebels.

Benson, who was a three-star prospect in the 2020 cycle, was ranked the No. 5 player from his home state of South Carolina in his class.

The 6-foot-9, 250-pound Benson, a native of Columbia, began his career and spent three seasons with the Gamecocks before transferring to Hampton. He played in 15 games for South Carolina.

Last season at Hampton, Benson played in 32 games, starting in 15 of those. He averaged 7.1 points on 56 percent shooting and notched an average of 5.3 rebounds per game, also recording 46 blocks and nine steals.