Former UTEP guard Souley Boum commits to Xavier

CINCINNATI, Ohio -For potentially the second straight season, UTEP can root for one of their own fan favorites at the Power Six level.

Guard Souley Boum, who led UTEP in scoring last season with 19.9 points per game, committed to Xavier on Monday about one month after entering the transfer portal.

The Oakland, CA native played three seasons for the Miners after transferring from San Francisco and sitting out the 2018-19 season.

Boum played in every single game his first two seasons at UTEP, and led the team in scoring during the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons.

Known for his lethal scoring ability and unlimited range, Boum shot 41% from the field this past season en route to being a 2nd Team All-Conference USA selection.

Boum scored at least 20+ points in 18 of the Miners' 34 games in 2021-22.

The 6-3 guard will join a Xavier team that just won the NIT Tournament postseason championship, and recently re-hired head coach Sean Miller after a year off of coaching. Miller previously left Xavier in 2009 for the Arizona Wildcats, where he was the coach for twelve seasons.

Also a terrific foul shooter, Boum is a career 85% foul shooter and just led Conference USA in both free throws attempted (203) and made (173).

After entering the transfer portal on April 6th, Boum also received interest from the likes of Kansas State, TCU, Seton Hall, and Gonzaga.

It marks the second straight season that a UTEP basketball transfer has moved onto to a Power Six-level school. Following the 2020-21 season, Bryson Williams departed the Miners for a graduate season at Texas Tech.

Musketeers fans will certainly hope Boum has similar success, as Williams was named a First Team All-Big 12 selection in his lone season in Lubbock.

Boum will have one season of eligibility with the Musketeers.