Former Ole Miss Basketball Star Lands New Job After NBA Draft

Former Ole Miss Basketball Star Lands New Job After NBA Draft originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

The Ole Miss men's basketball team was arguably the biggest surprise of the 2024-25 college basketball season. The program was completely revived by head coach Chris Beard, who took the Rebels to the Sweet 16 in just his second campaign at the helm.

While a player like Matthew Murrell stuck it out at Ole Miss through his entire career, including the rough times, and remained with the team through coaching changes, most of Beard's success came through the transfer portal.

Unfortunately, a majority of these players were mere rentals, as only four players from last year's team are still with the Rebels this season. The other 11 graduated or entered the transfer portal.

One of the seniors, former Duke transfer Jaemyn Brakefield, graduated and entered the 2025 NBA Draft. Unfortunately, he did not get selected or land a Summer League deal, so he was forced to pivot.

Last week, the Ole Miss men's basketball team announced that Brakefield signed with a professional basketball team in Japan called Bambitious Nara.

Congrats to @Jaemyn1 on signing a pro contract with @bambitiousnara in Japan!#HottyToddy x #Culturepic.twitter.com/N7OVlnzo1K

— Ole Miss Men’s Basketball (@OleMissMBB) July 9, 2025

Brakefield transferred to Ole Miss before the 2021-22 season, so he actually stayed through the coaching change as well. He spent his final four seasons with the Rebels and scored 11.1 points, grabbed 4.3 rebounds and dished out 1.8 assists per game in his final year.

After starting all 32 contests for Ole Miss during the 2023-24 season, he starred in a reserve role for the Rebels last year. This sacrifice was necessary, as the program made its first Sweet 16 in over 20 years.

Fellow graduates Murrell and star guard Sean Pedulla both landed NBA Summer League contracts with the Utah Jazz and Portland Trail Blazers, respectively. However, Brakefield will try his luck in the B.League of Japan.

Related: Former Ole Miss Guard Sean Pedulla Signs Contract With NBA Team

Related: Former Ole Miss Guard Signs NBA Contract With Utah Jazz

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 15, 2025, where it first appeared.