PORTLAND, Ore. – Portland head men's basketball coach Shantay Legans announced that guard Mike Meadows will join the Pilots for the 2021-22 season. Meadows (6-2, 175) was with Legans at Eastern Washington the last three years, redshirting his freshman season and then developing into a key starter during the Eagles run to the 2021 NCAA Tournament. He will have three years of eligibility remaining with the Pilots.

Meadows' meteoric rise with the Eagles was highlighted this past year with him moving into the starting lineup mid-season and the team immediately winning nine straight games. He then capped the season by scoring 12 points and dishing out a career-high eight assists in EWU's narrow loss to 12th-ranked Kansas in the NCAA Tournament.

"Mike brings toughness and leadership to the team," Legans said. "He leads by example with his play, but he is also a vocal leader. Mike will do whatever it takes to win a game. He is skilled offensively, rebounds well for his size, is a tough defender, and just has a lot of maturity."

"Portland is a gold mine to be tapped in to and I know we can make it something special," Meadows said of his decision to come to The Bluff. "It's a great opportunity to turn the program around and if the fans stick with us, we'll get it done."

Meadows moved into the starting lineup in late January after battling injuries early in the season and averaged 14.3 points during the team's nine-game winning streak. In the EWU's run to the Big Sky Conference Tournament title, Meadows scored 12 points against both Montana and Montana State in the semifinals and finals, respectively.

The Hollywood, Calif. native averaged 12.9 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game in Big Sky league play. He also shot an efficient 49.1 percent from the field, 39.3 percent from three-point range and 90.9 percent at the foul line, which ranked second in the Big Sky. He was one of four Eagles to average double figures over the course of the entire season (10.5 ppg).

Meadows tallied a career-high 21 points in a 93-77 road win at Montana State and dropped 20 on Montana in a 90-76 victory in Missoula. He reached double figures scoring in 12 of the last 13 games of the season.

"I thought Mike was deserving of all-conference honors the way he played down the stretch when he was healthy," Legans said. "He is extremely motivated to continually improve every day and willing to put in the effort the get better. I can't wait to get back to work with him soon."

Meadows committed to Legans at Eastern Washington and redshirted the 2018-19 season to focus on development. He played limited minutes in 19 games during the 2019-20 season for an Eagles team that raced to a 23-8 record and Big Sky Conference regular season title. EWU's season was cut short before the Big Sky Tournament due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Meadows also was named to the 2020 Big Sky Conference All-Academic Team.

A native of Hollywood, Calif., Meadows earned all-league honors all four years at Campbell Hall High School. He led the Vikings to a 20-win season and the 2018 CIF Division 2AA Southern Section quarterfinals as a senior. Meadows was previously garnered all-tournament honors after leading his team to the Burbank Tournament title, including a 22-point effort in the championship game win against Harvard-Westlake.