OVC Freshman Of The Year Is Heading To Evansville

Cam Haffner officially joins the Purple Aces

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – One of the top freshmen from the 2022-23 college basketball season has officially joined the University of Evansville men’s basketball team as head coach David Ragland has announced the addition of Cameron “Cam” Haffner.

The 2023 Ohio Valley Conference Freshman of the Year joins the Purple Aces following his freshman campaign at Eastern Illinois.  He is the son of Evansville basketball legend Scott Haffner.

“Ace’s fans and family will be excited to welcome in the son of a legend.  Cam is competitive, a gym rat, and can shoot with the best of them,” Ragland said.  “Our staff is excited to work with someone as committed to improvement as Cam is.”

“Cam is coming off a freshman season where he was able to be challenged at the collegiate level and gain in-game experience. Cameron shares the passion, along with our staff, the hunger and eagerness to help rebuild our storied program,” Ragland continued.  “It is important to continue to build our program with individuals who have won at a high level and have an affinity for the University of Evansville.”

Haffner completed his inaugural collegiate season as the top freshman scorer in the OVC with 7.5 points per game.  He was even better in league outings, scoring 9.2 points.  He scored a season-high of 17 points on three occasions, including a game at Little Rock that saw him drain five 3-pointers.

One of the top 3-point shooters in the OVC, the 6-foot-2 guard ranked third in the league with 42.7% of his outside attempts finding the bottom of the net.  He reached double figures on nine occasions as a freshman while hauling in his top total of nine rebounds against Tennessee State.

As a senior at Westfield High School, he averaged 16.5 points per game while converting a single-season school record of 85 triples in his final seasons.  The Indiana Large School All-State honoree in 2022 was named to the Indianapolis Star All-Super Team, which recognizes the top 15 players.  In his senior campaign, Haffner was named to the All-Regional Team while earning All-Sectional Team accolades in his final two high school seasons.  He was also a 3-time All-Conference selection

His father – Scott – is one of the most recognizable names in UE men’s basketball history.  His #3 jersey was retired by the program in 2014, making him the first player in UE’s Division I era to receive the honor.  In just three seasons with the program, he accumulated 1,686 points.  Scott’s most impressive outing with the Aces came on February 18, 1989, when he scored a program-record 65 points in a 109-83 win over Dayton at Roberts Stadium.