Ruffin part of Central Methodist University's 2016-17 recruiting class

FAYETTE, Mo. -- After an initial announcement in April, Vashawn Ruffin's move to Central Methodist University is now official.

Ruffin, who graduated from Sikeston High School in 2013, was announced as part of CMU head men's basketball coach Jeff Sherman's 2016-17 recruiting class on Friday.

"I believe Vashawn will be among the top point guards in the conference," said Sherman. "He has achieved a great deal of success throughout his athletic career, at Sikeston High School and Three Rivers Community College. He brings a wealth of knowledge, talent and ability to our program. Vashawn is the real deal and will be an impact player immediately. He is an amazing talent and knows how to win."

This is Ruffin's fourth college in four years after signing with Southwestern Illinois College in Belleville, Ill., out of high school. After one year at SWIC, Ruffin transferred to Three Rivers College in Poplar Bluff, Mo., for the 2014-15 season where he averaged 9.5 points, 3.5 assists and 2.4 rebounds during 22 minutes per game. He then signed with Slippery Rock University in Slippery Rock, Penn., but did not remain with the team.

It was first announced that Ruffin committed to Central Methodist April 26 on twitter.

Ruffin ended his senior year at Sikeston as Missouri's Player of the Year in Class 4. He averaged 16.5 points, 6.6 assists and shot 39 percent from 3-point range while guiding his team to a third place finish during the 2013 MSHSAA Show Me Showdown in Columbia. He was also an integral part of Sikeston's 30-0 state championship season as a sophomore in 2011.

"This has been a very successful recruiting year for us, as we had some very important spots to fill," said Sherman. "We had three to four starting positions that needed to be addressed and we believe this class has four players that have starting potential. While we do return our leading scorer Ron Lee (18 ppg) and our leading rebounder Scott Stegeman (8.8 rpg), this was an important recruiting year. We wanted to add more quickness, athleticism, size, experience and players that can score, and this was accomplished. More importantly, I wanted players that could be great teammates and have the ability to do numerous things well to compete for a conference title."