Photo of Eli Beard by Luke Zayas/True To The Cru
PHILADELPHIA — Eli Beard, a two-time D3hoops.com All-Region honoree with UMHB men’s basketball, is heading to the Division I ranks for his final year in college, set to play the upcoming season at Drexel University in Philadelphia. The news was announced by Drexel in a post on X on Thursday afternoon.
The guard from Big Sandy, Texas spent the last two seasons with The Cru, leading UMHB in scoring at 22.3 points per game this past winter. He scored 1,083 points in 53 contests, becoming a fixture in the backcourt for a program that reached the American Southwest Conference title game in back-to-back years. His 44-point performance in The Cru’s ASC Tournament semifinal win over LeTourneau in February set a new single-game tournament scoring record, and ranks No. 2 on UMHB’s single-game scoring list.
Beard opened his career at New Mexico Junior College and Bossier Parish Community College before arriving in Belton. Because of his time in junior college and the NCAA’s temporary waiver regarding student-athletes who previously used eligibility at a non-NCAA institution, he earned a fifth year of eligibility to be used in 2025-26. Almost immediately upon entering the transfer portal in mid-March, Beard received interest from numerous top Division II and mid-major Division I programs.
He joins a Drexel program led by head coach Zach Spiker, who will be in his 10th year at the helm this winter. The Dragons went 18-15 in 2024-25, and the year prior, clinched an NCAA Tournament bid after winning the program’s first Coastal Athletic Association title. That season, Drexel went 20-12, posting only the 11th 20-win season in program history, and went undefeated at home in conference play. The Dragons enter 2025-26 seeking their sixth consecutive winning season.
“We are excited that these four men chose to attend Drexel,” Spiker said in a press release on Thursday, announcing Drexel’s newcomers. “It was apparent on their visits that they fit in with the culture of our program. They each have a chance to make an impact on our program right away and we are excited to have them join us this summer.”
A three-level scorer with a fantastic outside touch, Beard shot 42.3 percent from 3-point range over his two seasons at UMHB. Always dangerous off the dribble, his quickness and agility are traits that will translate in Division I, as he is capable of driving hard to the rim or stopping on a dime and putting up a mid-range shot just as easily. Arguably one of the toughest guards to defend in Region 10 this past year, Beard had 15 games of at least 20 points and went for more than 30 in four of those. That included 38 points in a 76-70 win at Whitman on Dec. 13, in which the 5’11 standout converted on 12 of his 15 attempts, including 6-for-7 from beyond the 3-point arc. He was also 17-for-25 in the 44-point showing against LeTourneau, taking control of the contest down the stretch of the second half as he accounted for 17 of UMHB’s last 19 points.
Beard’s free throw shooting ability has also garnered plenty of attention, adding to his impressive offensive and shooting resume As a junior in 2023-24, he shot 92.0 percent at the line, a mark that ranked No. 5 in Division III and set a new single-season program record. Beard made 84.5 percent of his free throws as a senior, and shot 87.5 percent over his two years, landing him at No. 2 on the program’s career list.
His ballhandling prowess was also put on display in 2024-25 as he improved his assist total from 2.1 assists/game to 3.0, dishing out 77, which tied with Josh Goings for the most on the team. As a defender, Beard tallied exactly 32 steals in each of his two seasons.
With his commitment to Drexel, Beard joins a group of several Division III standouts who are transferring up to Division I ahead of the 2025-26 season. That includes All-American Toby Harris (Brandeis to Iona), 2024 SCAC Freshman of the Year Christian Green (Trinity to Stephen F. Austin), and SCIAC Tournament Most Outstanding Player AJ Rohosy (Claremont-Mudd-Scripps to Stanford).
