Eastern Washington signs Seattle guard Elijah Jackson

Hoping to reap more success in its own backyard, Eastern Washington has signed Seattle guard Elijah Jackson to a letter of intent to play next year, coach Shantay Legans announced Thursday.

“Adding a recruit from our own backyard is not only special, but critical to our program’s success,” added Legans on the eve of the Eagles’ home opener against Walla Walla.

“Some of our greatest players at Eastern have come from in-state. We need to protect our backyard which has been a major emphasis in our recruiting plans,” Legans said.

The latest is Jackson, a 6-foot-4 guard at Chief Sealth High School, where last year he averaged 16.4 points to earn first-team All-Metro League honors.

Jackson also averaged 2.4 assists, 2.2 steals and 2.9 rebounds per as the Seahawks reached the Metro League Playoffs.

“Eastern fans will love his mix of athletic and playmaking abilities around the basket. Elijah will be one of the better athletes in the conference next year.”

An exceptional jumper, he won the dunk contest at a Seattle versus Tacoma All-Star game and was a state placer in the long jump, high jump and triple jump.

Eastern currently has eight players who graduated from in-state high schools within the state of Washington, including Ukraine native Bogdan Bliznyuk of Federal Way and Ty Gibson of Issaquah.