Local basketball standout Max Barkeley has decided to use his last year of eligibility at NAIA University of Antelope Valley in Lancaster.

It will be the last stop for the shooting guard who played for two years at Victor Valley College, before transferring to Simon Fraser University (Vancouver, Canada) where he exhausted his junior year in 2015-2016.

It was a tough season at the Canadian school for Barkeley, a Rim of the World High School graduate. He was slowed by a pair of concussions and his playing career never really got back on track at that school.

Barkeley was also considering Cal State San Bernardino, Cal State Los Angeles, Cal State San Marcos and Sonoma State – all NCAA Division II schools in the same conference.  But the transfer of credits from a Canadian school as well as other  issues meant he was destined for an NAIA school as opposed to an NCAA school.

“I am close to graduating so I wanted to find the place that will keep me on that path and there were a lot of hoops to jump through with many NCAA schools. Also coach (Brad) Rogers is a great coach with a proven track record so with one year left I wanted to finish strong both academically and athletically,” he said.

Barkeley has three semesters left for a degree in criminal justice.

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Former Rim of the World High School and Victor Valley College basketball standout Max Barkeley plans to transfer from NCAA Division II Simon Fraser University for his senior season.

Barkeley, a shooting guard, played two years at Victor Valley and is currently in his junior season at Simon Fraser but this season he has been slowed by two concussions. He is averaging a team-high 14.9 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists but has played in just 14 of 26 games this season.

“It just hasn’t been the best fit and the consucssions certainly haven’t helped,” Barkeley said. “I just want to come back closer to home.”

Barkeley has informed the school that he plans to transfer but isn’t sure yet whether he’ll be eligible for the 2016-17 season. The transfer is complicated by the fact that many of his credits from the Vancouver, Can., based school won’t transfer.

He has talked to several schools in the CCAA, most notably Cal State San Bernardino which would seem like the perfect option given his desire to return closer to home.

Cal State Los Angeles and Sonoma State are also interested.

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