Panthers add size, versatility for 2018

The UW-Milwaukee Panthers will add some much-needed size to their 2018-’19 roster after signing a three-man class consisting of Zach Cameron-Chodes, Shae Mitchell and Fabio Soehnel on Wednesday.

Cameron-Chodes and Soehnel are teammates at Mineral Area College in Park Hills, Mo., while Mitchell is from Lakeview South (Minn.) High School.

“Our main objective with this class is to acquire size, versatility, shooting and athleticism across the board," said Pat Baldwin, whose recruiting class is his first as coach at UWM. "I truly believe we have achieved that for next year.”

The 6-foot-10, 215-pound Cameron-Chodes has a year of Division I experience after playing last season at Kennesaw State, where he averaged 1.1 points and 2.6 rebounds in 30 games as a freshman.

Before his signing, UWM’s two tallest players heading into next season would have been 6-8 forwards Bryce Nze and Vance Johnson.

“Zach is a rare-breed athlete for our program, who was being coveted by many high-major programs,” said Baldwin. “He worked hard on his all-around game and that’s an added bonus he brings at 6-10 with his length and athleticism.”

Soehnel, a native of Altach, Austria, checks in at 6-4 and 215. He averaged 12.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists last season at Hillsborough Community College in Plant City, Fla.

“Fabio stands out on the court because of his toughness and his ability to shoot the basketball,” Baldwin said. “He has a Big Tenready body and competes at a high level. Fabio also has a tremendous basketball IQ and knows how to make the right basketball plays on the floor.

"He will add to the depth and versatility of our backcourt and help when we need to grind out wins in the tough Horizon League.”

Both players will have two years of eligibility remaining at UWM.

The 6-8 Mitchell averaged 16 points and six rebounds per game as a junior at Lakeville South High School while also surpassing the 1,000-point mark for his career.

“Shae’s length, athleticism and shooting ability are high level and are great attributes for us,” Baldwin said. “His upside is tremendous and we are very fortunate to get a commitment from a high-character and high-performing student-athlete such as Shae.”