Former Indiana Guard Jakai Newton Heads To Georgia State

Jakai Newton spent two injury-marred seasons with Indiana. He only appeared in four games, but will start fresh closer to home.

Sept. 18, 2024, Bloomington, IN, USA; Indiana Hoosiers guard Jakai Newton answers a question during IU men’s and women’s basketball media day at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Grace Smith/USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images / Grace Smith/USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Jakai Newton never got a chance to demonstrate his potential at Indiana due to injuries. He'll try to reinvigorate his college basketball career close to home.

The Covington, Ga. native announced via his social media account on Friday that he was going to transfer to Georgia State, which is in Atlanta. Covington is an hour east of Atlanta.

🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/lZBixC9j9y

— Jakai Newton (@jakai_newton) April 4, 2025

Newton only played four games for the Hoosiers, all in the 2024-25 season and all but one of them in nonconference play.

Newton was a promising recruit out of Newton High School in Covington and was part of the Class of 2023 recruiting group that also included Gabe Cupps, and later, Mackenzie Mgbako. Cupps has since committed to Ohio State and Mgbako remains in the transfer portal.

Newton suffered a knee injury during his senior year in high school. Late in the summer of 2023, Newton had surgery and would not play during what would have been his freshman season in 2023-24.

Given a medical waiver, Newton began the 2024-25 as a freshman, but injuries kept him on the sideline again.

Newton suffered a hamstring injury and an unspecified lower body that he had surgery to repair. He was declared out indefinitely in December and would only return for one more game – a four-minute appearance against Illinois on Jan. 14.

Newton’s appearances with the Hoosiers presented a very small sample size. In the second game of the 2024-25 season, Newton peaked with eight minutes of game time. In his next game, nearly a month later against Sam Houston State, he reached his career high of four points. Newton only attempted six shots in his career.

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