Men's Basketball to Travel to Costa Rica

Troy, Ala. – In preparation for the 2018-19 season, Troy men's basketball will travel to Costa Rica to take part in a 2018 Foreign Tour where it will play in three games and participate in team-building activities in early August.

The Trojans will have 10 practice days before leaving for San Jose, Costa Rica on Aug. 2. In San Jose, Troy will face Laurentian University twice (Friday, Aug. 3 at 3 p.m. CT and Sunday, Aug 5 at 3 p.m. CT) and the Costa Rica U-21 National Team on Saturday, Aug. 4 at 7 p.m. CT. All games will be played at Ciudad Deportiva.

There will be four other men's basketball teams traveling to Costa Rica this summer, Eastern Kentucky, San Diego, Texas San Antonio and Maine, all at different dates for the Foreign Tour. Troy is not permitted to face any of those teams prior to the 2018-19 season due to NCAA rules.

"We're really looking forward to this upcoming trip to Costa Rica," Head Coach Phil Cunningham said. "The 10 days of practice allowed by the NCAA in conjunction with a foreign tour are extremely beneficial to a team, especially the new players. We've got six new faces on our team and those guys will be much more prepared for practice in October due to the time spent in practice this summer. We play three games on the trip and we're excited about seeing how different combinations play together in a live game setting. Again, those games will allow us to evaluate the new players in particular as well as the returnees who are trying to step into larger roles."

"Basketball Travelers has been organizing trips to Costa Rica for several years and everything we've heard about this tour has been outstanding. The greatest benefit to our players is the opportunity to spend a few days in a different country and blend in with a culture somewhat different than what they experience daily in the US. Costa Rica is a beautiful place that takes pride in their strong policies regarding the environment and we're going to spend time in two different regions of the country."

The Trojans recently signed junior college transfer Charles Norman for the 2018-19 season. In addition to Norman, Troy added Xavier Williams, Spencer Rodgers, KJ Simon and Devante Foster in the early signing period in 2017. Troy returns seven players from last season including senior trio B.J. Miller, Alex Hicks and All-Sun Belt Second Team selection Jordon Varnado.

For more information on Troy men's basketball, follow the team on Instagram and Twitter at @TroyMensHoops or visit TroyTrojans.com.

Players Mentioned

Devante Foster

Alex Hicks

BJ Miller

Spencer Rodgers

KJ Simon

Jordon Varnado

Zay Williams

Troy University Athletics