Ole Miss Men’s Basketball Adds Top Grad Transfer Dimencio Vaughn

The Ole Miss men’s basketball team signed graduate transfer Dimencio Vaughn to the 2020-21 season, head coach Kermit Davis announced Wednesday. Vaughn comes to Oxford as one of the top-five grad transfers in the country after a successful career at Rider.

“Dimencio gives us a very talented, versatile athlete that plays with a high motor,” Davis said. “He shoots a really good percentage from three (39.3 percent), while averaging 14.8 points and almost seven rebounds per game. We welcome Dimencio back to the state of Mississippi, where he won a state championship at Callaway in 2015.”

Vaughn ranked No. 4 nationally on the list of top grad transfers by both Stadium and 247Sports, and he spent the past four seasons at Rider. After his freshman campaign ended nine games into the season due to injury, he earned a medical redshirt. Vaughn bounced back from the injury by averaging double figures in each of the next three seasons. Over 95 games for the Broncs, Vaughn scored 1,239 points and shot 47.4 percent from the floor while earning First Team All-MAAC honors twice.

This past season, his final at Rider, Vaughn averaged a team-high 14.8 points per game and 6.6 rebounds per game (second on the team). Ranking fifth in the conference in both categories, he earned First Team All-MAAC accolades. The New York City native added 1.8 steals per game to lead the Broncs, second in the league, and his 48.4 field goal percentage ranked eighth in the MAAC. Vaughn also shot 39.3 percent from beyond the arc, good for second on the team and 10th in the conference. He recorded 22 double-digit scoring games, another team-best, including a season-high 28 points at Monmouth (Feb. 2). Vaughn put together five double-doubles throughout the season, bringing his career total to nine.

Coming off his debut season that was shortened due to injury, Vaughn burst onto the scene as a redshirt freshman. Scoring double figures in 24 of 29 games, the athletic wing averaged a team-high 16.1 ppg (eighth in the MAAC). He ranked second in the conference in steals (1.8 per game) and sixth in rebounds (6.7 per game) on his way to being named First Team All-MAAC. Vaughn also cracked the league’s top 10 in both field goal percentage (50.8) and free throw percentage (76.4), ranking eighth and 10th, respectively. He posted eight 20-point games throughout the year, helping him capture MAAC Player of the Week honors twice. Against St. Peter’s (Jan. 18, 2018), Vaughn scored a career-high 34 points. He followed that performance with a double-double (20 points, 13 rebounds) at Fairfield (Jan. 23, 2018), which included the game-winning tip-in with 8.5 seconds left in the contest.

Before continuing his career at Rider, Vaughn averaged 24 points and 8.5 rebounds as a post-grad at The Masters School in New York. He makes his return to Mississippi; prior to heading north, Vaughn led Callaway High School to a 2015 state championship under the guidance of Ole Miss basketball alum David Sanders.

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