MOREHEAD, Ky. -- A former All-Ohio Valley Conference guard at Tennessee State, who also played the 2021-22 campaign at Illinois State, will make a return to the OVC as Mark Freeman joins head coach Preston Spradlin's Morehead State men's basketball program.

A Memphis, Tenn., native, the 5-10 Freeman will have two seasons of eligibility remaining. He attended Southwind High School in Memphis as well as The Skill Factory.

"Mark is an extremely gifted point guard who has the speed, vision and scoring ability to take over games. We have had a long tradition of high level point guards, and Mark gives us a unique blend of some of our former floor generals," said Spradlin. "His experience in both the Missouri Valley and Ohio Valley will be valuable in leading our team that is full of newcomers." 

At ISU in 2021-22, Freeman averaged 8.8 points, 3.5 assists, and 2.6 rebounds per game and led the Redbirds in free throw percentage (.875), while making 38 percent of his shots from the field and 39 percent of his long-range buckets. His free throw percentage ranked fourth in the Missouri Valley Conference for the season, while his 3.5 assists per game ranked him seventh in the conference. He scored a career-high 34 against Bucknell.

Freeman suited up for two seasons at Tennessee State (2019-20 and 2020-21) where he was named Second-Team All-OVC in 2020-21. That season, he averaged 17.4 points and 4.6 assists while ranking No. 1 in the league with his 82 percent free throw accuracy. Freeman will now be playing his home games in the arena he had one of his more memorable games. In 2021, Freeman tossed in 30 points against the Eagles in the game in Johnson Arena. He also dropped 29 points in the previous game before that at Jacksonville State. 

Freeman dished out 131 assists and scored 6.5 points per outing as a freshman in 2019-20.

He was a a two-time Class AAA Tennessee Sports Writers Association All-State honoree at Southwind, in 2016-17 and 2017-18. Freeman was also a finalist for the 2018 Class AAA Mr. Basketball award. He was rated as a three-star recruit by ESPN.com and 247sports.com. As a senior in 2017-18, he averaged 22 points and eight assists and led the Jaguars to a 29-2 record and a run to the Region 8 semifinals. As a junior during the 2016-17 season, helped guide Southwind to a 32-7 mark en route to the Class AAA state championship game.

Freeman played for the Bluff City Legends (formerly Team Penny) in the Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL) summer circuit.