Eastern Illinois men's basketball head coach Marty Simmons has announced the addition of a second player from the transfer portal with the addition of forward Demar Burton (6'8", 215).
 
Burton played last season at Tiffin University where he averaged 9.3 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game.  He shot 59 percent from inside the arc and had a presence on both ends of the floor leading the Great Midwest Athletic Conference in blocked shots.  During the season he had seven games with three or more blocks including a high of five against Universidad Metropolitana (Puerto Rico), a game where he posted a double-double with 11 points, 11 rebounds.   Burton is expected to make an immediate defensive impact by altering shots in the paint.
 
One of his top performances last season came in a win over Hillsdale College where he scored 17 points going 8-of-10 from the floor.  Burton finished the season with eight double figure scoring games and two double figure rebounding games.  His season high was 20 points.
 
"Demar brings a physical post presence to our line-up and will impact play on both ends of the court.  He has great work ethic with a relentless high motor, high character and leadership," said Simmons.  "His team-first mindset and commitment to winning align well with the culture at Eastern Illinois."
 
Prior to his time at Tiffin, Burton played two seasons at the junior college level starting his career at Paris Junior College before his sophomore season at Coastal Bend Junior College.  At Coastal Bench he averaged 11.2 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game.  Burton ranked second in NJCAA Region 14 in blocked shots. 
 
A native of San Antonio, Texas, Burton attended Brandeis High School where he ranked 17th in the state in blocked shots as a senior averaging 3.0 blocks per game to go with 18.7 points and 8.9 rebounds per contest.
 
Burton becomes the third new player added to the 2026-27 EIU roster joining guard Jalen Miller (East Central Oklahoma) who signed out of the transfer portal and high school standout Jayden Wright (Benet Academy) who signed with the Panthers back in November.