Griffins bring in proven scorer, welcoming Nipissing rookie of the year Moore
Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – Bringing experience as a proven scorer in U SPORTS, CCAA and high school, the first announcement in the 2025-26 Griffins men's basketball recruiting class has the ability to be a tone-setter for new head coach David Kapinga.
Marcus Moore, who was the rookie of the year for the Nipissing University men's basketball team in 2023-24, is transferring to join the Griffins this fall.
"Marcus is a well-known scorer and not just that, but also very high character, high personality, high energy," said Kapinga. "Bringing him in will help us a lot with the shooting and scoring that we need and also just to set the culture of being excited to be a Griffin."
The 6-foot-3 combo guard averaged 8.43 points/game for Nipissing as an Ontario University Association rookie in 2023-24 and didn't consume eligibility last season due to an injury. He enters MacEwan with 26 games of U SPORTS experience under his belt.
"It's huge," said Kapinga. "For our coaching staff, a big key was to start the year with some experience so we can kind of change that record a little bit and change the branding around the men's program so far. Starting this new chapter with some wins – older guys who can give us some winning, I think we can recruit better and have a little bit more confidence. We want to put a product that's exciting on the floor."
Moore also has five CCAA games on his resume from a season at Humber College in 2022-23 – scoring 24 points in one contest – and was also recruited to Vincennes University (NJCAA) for the 2021-22 season, but didn't play.
In high school, the Scarborough, Ont. product led Pine Ridge Secondary to a provincial championship, was named Team MVP and won his school's athlete of the year honours. A Biosteel All Canadian nominee in 2020, he took his talents south of the border in 2020-21, playing for South Carolina's Aim High Prep, where he averaged 21.7 points and 5.2 assists/game.
"He has it all," said Kapinga. "He's a very creative scorer, has great ball handling, can shoot from the outside, and can pass the ball. He's a very diverse scorer with the ability to also be the point guard. When he gets double teamed or help side comes, he's still able to make the passes."
Further to his accolades, Moore is also a strong student as a two-time U SPORTS Academic All Canadian.
"He's a great kid and we're excited to have him."
