Vermont continues to build their roster, securing a commitment from 6'5" guard John Broom from Jacksonville, Alabama. Broom has spent the last three years at South Alabama, medically redshirting in 2023-2024 before playing the last two seasons. He burst on to the scene with a strong freshman season, starting every game for the 21-11 Sun Belt regular season champion Jaguars. That season, Broom averaged 5.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, and finished with 50 steals and 21 blocks across 32 games. He was named to the Sun Belt preseason all conference third team prior to last season. He struggled to crack the rotation out of the gates before regaining rotational minutes at the end of December. It was a tale of two halves for Broom, averaging 5.8 minutes per game over the first 11 games before jumping up to 20.4 minutes the rest of the way. This is a strong addition for Vermont. Broom rated as South Alabama's best defender during his freshman year (according to evanmiya.com) and has been a plus offensive player both seasons. He is the type of two way player that can thrive in the Vermont system. He has shot 44/118 (37%) over his two seasons and will bring that coveted "3 and D" element to this Catamount group. If he returns to his freshman year form, he will be a big time contributor for Vermont. He has a very high ceiling and is coming from a winning basketball program so he will be used to the high expectations. He is known as a relentless worker and has a skill set built for Vermont basketball. The coaching staff is really loading up on big guards who have the versatility to slide into the small forward spot. It feels like system fit has been prioritized this offseason as the new players skill sets play to the strengths of Vermont basketball.
