Devin Davenport, a prolific scorer from Missouri Valley College, has joined the Eastern Illinois men's basketball roster for the upcoming season as head coach Marty Simmons announced the Panthers third signee of the spring recruiting period.
 
Davenport (6'2" / 180) played just one season at Missouri Valley but in that one season made an immediate impact on the team's offensive record book.   He ranked third in the Heart of America Athletic Conference in scoring at 20.3 points per game with 19 total games of 20 or more points.   He scored a school record 50 points against William Penn (Iowa) earning him NAIA National Player of the Week honors.  Davenport connected for 44.1 percent from the field, 36 percent from 3-point range and 89.7 percent from the free throw line.  His free throw percentage ranked ninth in the NAIA as he accumulated five games with double figure made free throws in the season.
 
At the end of the year Davenport earned first team All-Conference, the first Missouri Valley College player to do so since 2019.  His 588 total points for the season ranked sixth on the school's single season scoring list with his 157 made free throws landing second all-time for a single season at Missouri Valley College.
 
"Devin will be a nice addition to our offensive line-up coming to EIU after being one of the top scorers at the NAIA level last season," said Simmons.  "He can score points in a variety of ways whether its driving to the basket, mid-range jumpers or from 3-point shots.  We look forward to adding him to our team as we continue to build at all our positions for next season."
 
A native of Milwaukee, Wis., Davenport was a standout at Milwaukee Lutheran High School earning honorable mention All-State honors as a senior.  He scored more than 1,000 points averaging 19.5 points per game as a senior.   Prior to his one season at Missouri Valley, Davenport played two seasons at Trinidad State College averaging 7.9 points per game over the two seasons.
 
Davenport becomes the fourth new player added to the 2026-27 EIU roster.   The Panthers signed high school standout Jayden Wright (Benet Academy) in November before adding guard Jalen Miller (East Central Oklahoma) and forward Demar Burton (Tiffin University) out of the transfer portal.