With only one scholarship available, University of Dayton men's basketball coach Brian Gregory and his staff landed their third top local product in as many years when Centerville High School star Matt Kavanaugh signed his letter of intent to attend UD and play basketball for the Flyers.

As the newest official member of the Flyers family, the 6-foot-9, 225 pound power forward, follows in the footsteps two other local standouts who will be his teammates in 2009-10. Chris Wright of Trotwood-Madison High School was the first as he signed with the Flyers in November of 2006. Dayton Dunbar graduate Josh Benson followed in Wright's footsteps and signed with UD last year.

"I'm really pleased that Matt is joining the Flyer basketball family," Dayton head coach Brian Gregory said. "The first time I saw him as a young sophomore we knew he was someone who could really make an impact in our program.

"He possesses the skill level, the toughness, the work ethic and the character that falls in line with what we want our program to be," Gregory added.

Kavanaugh was a rare sophomore starter for coach Jim Staley's Centerville High School program, and with Kavanaugh in the paint, the Elks went 19-4 overall in 2006-07 and won their third consecutive Greater Western Ohio Conference championship. Centerville also reached the District finals for the sixth straight season. He averaged 13 points, 9.9 rebounds and three blocks as a sophomore. He was first team all-conference and Second Team All-Southwest Ohio.

As a junior, Kavanaugh blossomed from being one of the best players in the Dayton area to one of the best in the state. He was the only underclassman on the 2008 First and Second Team Division I All-Ohio teams. He was named to the second team after averaging 20.8 points, 10.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.4 blocks per game. The Centerville Elks repeated as GWOC champions, returned to the District finals and were ranked #1 in the area.

"I like the fact that he is being coached every day to improve his overall game as part of the championship program at Centerville High School under coach Staley," Gregory continued. "Matt's signing marks the third time in the last three years we have recruited arguably the top senior in the Dayton area. Recruiting your home territory is always important, but our program is moving forward in large part due to the local players we are bringing into our program. That says a lot about the level of competitive basketball in our town."

Dayton opens the 2008-09 regular season Sunday night when Wofford College visits UD Arena. Game time is 7:00 p.m. ET.