University of South Dakota men's basketball coach Eric Peterson officially announced his first addition to the 2022-23 roster Friday in Paul Bruns. Bruns has signed to play for the Coyotes after transferring from the University of North Dakota.

"I could not be more excited to welcome Paul and his family into our program," said Peterson.  "Paul is a local South Dakota player who has already experienced success in the Summit League."

Bruns is a native of Jefferson, South Dakota, and played at Dakota Valley High School – just 30 minutes from the campus of USD. He earned South Dakota Basketball Coaches Association Class A Player of the Year as a junior and senior and Midco Sports Class A Player of the Year those same years. Bruns averaged 27.5 points per game and 13 rebounds a game as a senior.

Bruns had an award-winning freshman season for the Fighting Hawks. He led UND in scoring with 14.8 points per game and hauled in 5.8 rebounds per game while dishing out 35 assists on the season. The 6-4 guard shot 40 percent from the floor, 36.9 percent from three, and 82.2 percent from the free-throw line. Bruns had one of his better performances against North Dakota State in late December. He scored 27 points on 9-of-18 shooting including 6-of-10 from deep and grabbed 11 rebounds for his first of three double-doubles on the year.

At the end of the regular season, Bruns was awarded the Summit League Freshman of the Year and received all-Summit League honorable mention honors as well. He led all freshmen in the conference in scoring and rebounding and had nine 20-plus point performances last season.

"He is a big, physical guard who can score it in a variety of ways," said Peterson. "His competitiveness and confidence on the floor are contagious and there is no doubt in my mind he is a great fit with what we are building here at South Dakota."