In the 2019 NBA Draft, the Memphis Grizzlies took a chance on Ja Morant, a high-flying point guard out of Murray State University. Morant was a zero-star recruit coming out of high school, and famously got accidentally recognized by a Murray State assistant coach, who was simply heading to the concession stand while Morant was playing in the auxiliary gym of a tournament.
Morant has always seemed to value the opportunity that Murray State gave him, even if they discovered him by accident.
Morant took the college basketball world by storm in his sophomore season with the Racers, averaging 24.5 points, 10.0 assists, and 5.7 rebounds per game, leading Murray State to the NCAA Tournament and earning All-American honors.
Morant is undoubtedly the best athlete to come out of Murray State, and now his alma mater is making noise on the college baseball scene.
FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER, MURRAY STATE IS GOING TO THE MEN'S COLLEGE WORLD SERIES‼️🤯 pic.twitter.com/AJyjwpajPT
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 10, 2025
After beating Duke in the super regionals, Murray State is heading to its first-ever Men's College World Series in Omaha, and Morant took to social media to show his support with a three-word message.
Via Ja Morant: "racing to omaha 🐎"
racing to omaha 🐎
— Ja Morant (@JaMorant) June 10, 2025
Murray State took down Duke in a thriller, winning 4-3 in Game 3 of the best-of-three series to punch their ticket to Omaha. Murray State will now start another best-of-three series against UCLA in Omaha next Saturday, and the Grizzlies' star point guard will certainly continue to rep and show support for the school that gave him an opportunity when almost nobody else would.