MIAMI (July 5, 2016) – FIU Head Men's Basketball Coach Anthony Evans announced today the addition of two 6-foot-9 forwards – Michael Kessens from Nyon Switzerland (University of Alabama) and Jay Harvey from Chicago, Illinois, (Shawnee Community College) – to the Panthers' roster. Kessens and Harvey join spring junior college signees Eric Lockett of Chipola College, Ronald Whitaker of Southwest Tennessee Community College and Richard Bivens of East Los Angeles Community College, and are expected to contribute immediately during the 2016-17 season.

"Michael and Jay are welcome additions to our program," said Evans. "They are both talented players that bring size and skill to our team."

Kessens, who joins FIU after playing two seasons at Alabama, graduated this past spring and will have one year of eligibility as he works towards his master's degree.
Kessens played in all 33 games for the Crimson Tide, getting the starting nod 21 times during the 2015-16 campaign. He averaged 3.7 points- and 3.5 rebounds-per-outing, while also shooting an impressive 55.8 percent (48-for-86) from the field. Kessens was also fourth on the team in blocked shots with 14. He helped Alabama to a first round appearance against Creighton in the National Invitation Tournament.

During the season, Kessens scored a season-high 10 points at Ole Miss, and grabbed a career-best nine rebounds, twice, with the first coming against No. 17 Notre Dame. He also tallied eight points, five rebounds and two assists against Missouri.

Kessens posted double figure points five times during the 2014-15 season, which included two double-doubles, against Appalachian State (17 points, 10 rebounds) and North Florida (18 points, 12 rebounds). He missed a third double-double – in a four game stretch – with a 10-point, nine-rebound effort against Texas A&M. On the year, Kessens averaged 5.9 points- and 5.2 rebounds-per-game while shooting 50 percent from the field (73-for-146) in 32 games, including 10 starts.

In two seasons at Alabama, Kessens averaged 4.7 points- and 2.7 rebounds-per-contest in 65 games.

Kessens started his collegiate career at Longwood University in Farmville, Virginia, and was recruited by, and played for, current FIU assistant coach Mike Gillian who was head coach for the Lancers from 2003-13. In his one season at Longwood (2012-13), Kessens averaged 13.7 points-per-game and 8.8 rebounds-per-contest, and was named the Big South Conference Rookie of the Year and to the league's all-freshmen team after posting 11 double-doubles. In addition, he was voted the Virginia Sports Information Directors Association Rookie of the Year, encompassing all Division I schools in the state of Virginia. Kessens also picked up a league-leading four Big South Freshman of the Week awards during the season and was selected to the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Freshmen All-America Team.

Scholastically, Kessens led Lycee Europe Robert Schumann in Cholet, France, to the French High School championship as a senior. He also played in the French Under-21 Championship in 2009 and 2010 and was pre-selected on German Under-20 National Team in 2010.

Harvey, who has played just three years of organized basketball, played the last two seasons at Shawnee Community College (SCC) in Ullin, Illinois, and helped guide the Saints to a 16-14 record during the 2015-16 campaign. He averaged 3.0 points-per-game and was fourth on the team grabbing 5.3 rebounds-per-outing. In addition, Harvey was first on the team in blocked shots, rejecting 1.7 shots-per-contest.

Harvey was a force on the glass and in the paint for SCC. He grabbed six-or-more rebounds 13 times and had double-figure boards in four games, including 13 rebounds against Lewis & Clark College on Dec. 2, 2015 and 11 rebounds against John A Logan Community College on Jan. 23, 2016. He also had 12 multiple blocked shot games, rejecting three-or-more shots in eight of the 12 outings.

During a five-game stretch from Feb. 13-26, 2016, Harvey swatted 25 shots, including a career-high seven against Olney Community College.

Harvey played one year of scholastic basketball at T.F. North High School in Calumet City, Illinois. He was also a standout football player for the Meteors football team as a tackle and defensive end.

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About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports. Athletic events are played in seven different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including FIU Arena and at the FIU Football Stadium.
 
About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. Its colleges and schools offer more than 180 bachelor¹s, master¹s and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU is Worlds Ahead in its local and global engagement, finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission. FIU has awarded 200,000 degrees and enrolls 50,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU is a member of Conference USA and has 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.