Panther fans will certainly have a reason to pay attention to a small high school in Missouri.

6-foot-8 forward Jake Byrne from Elsberry, Mo., High School has signed a national letter of intent to wear the blue and white of Eastern next season.

“We’re excited to have Jake signed into our program,” Panthers head coach Rick Samuels said.

Byrne averaged a double-double last season as a junior in high school with 20.4 points per game, 11.6 rebounds and two blocks. However, the Eastern coaching staff followed his progress through the St. Louis AAU system where he played with and against nationally ranked high school talent.

“Coach (Steve) Weemer did a great job identifying Jake and doing the majority of the recruiting,” Samuels said.

According to scouting reports on Byrne put out by HoopsOasis.com, though not a great athlete, Byrne uses his 220 pound frame very well in the post.

“Jake already has the frame to play at the Division I level,” Samuels said.

Byrne also has the ability to hit the outside jump shot.

“Jake has an inside-outside type of game by proving he could rebound with authority and have a nice touch around the hoop,” Samuels said.

Byrne chose Eastern over Missouri-Kansas City, Wagner, Dartmouth, Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne, Yale and Pennsylvania.

Bryne was being highly recruited by three Ivy League schools because of his 4.0 grade point average and a 32 ACT score.

“Jake is very excited about the educational opportunity he will receive here at Eastern,” Samuels said. “We’ve always targeted the St. Louis area because we are recognized academically.”

The current Eastern player that Bryne could be compared to in the sense of physical size and style of play is Jesse Mackinson.

“We’ve compared him very closely to Jesse, and right now he’s bigger than Jesse was his freshman year,” Samuels said.

Byrne becomes the third member of the St. Louis-based AAU program to make his college decision, following commitments by 5-foot-9 point guard Paul Paradoski of St. Louis, Mo., Vianney High School to Southeast Missouri State, and 6-foot-5 shooting guard Luke Meyer of Washington, Mo., St. Francis Borgia High School to Saint Louis.

“In his AAU ball, the one thing we noticed was his ruggedness in the fact that he can take contact and deliver it too,” Samuels said. “People will definitely be saying ‘I want to play with Jake now that he has signed with us.'”