ZIONS BANK REAL ACADEMY ANNOUNCES LAUNCH OF THE RSL BASKETBALL ACADEMY
Groundbreaking Residential Basketball Academy Sees ZBRA Take First Steps in Establishing Elite Development Program for High-level Basketball Players
HERRIMAN, Utah (Tuesday, July 21, 2020) – Zions Bank Real Academy today announced the launch of the RSL Basketball Academy that will compete in the Utah High School Athletics Association beginning in fall 2020. The program will see athletes compete at the freshman through varsity levels and will aim to become the premier athletic and academic basketball development program in the United States.
The program will be led by renowned high school coach David Evans. Enjoying a combined record of 120-20 from his tenure at Lone Peak High School and Wasatch Academy, Evans has an established track record of high-level team success and developing top players. In addition to achieving a consensus top-3 national ranking, Coach Evans finished the 2019-20 season as the second seed at the GEICO National High School Invitational. Evans is the first head coach to lead two teams to the prestigious tournament in the process.
“We recognized the opportunity to continue to develop athletes in the sport of basketball. Our goal is to give them the resources they need to succeed at the professional level. Coach Evans’ expertise in working with elite basketball talent, coupled with our infrastructure and experience in developing professional athletes, is an ideal partnership. It will allow us to immediately establish ourselves as a development center within the sport.” Zions Bank Real Academy President Jake Haueter said.
“Real Salt Lake Academy High School is excited to be part of the new basketball developmental program. Over the past three years, Real Salt Lake Academy High School has had great success integrating the Real Salt Lake soccer academy into our school. We look forward to providing an excellent STEM educational experience as we continue to building upon our academic success.” Director of the Real Salt Lake Academy High School Ryan Marchant said.
“I’m excited to be a part of Real Salt Lake Academy. They are professional and have shown excellence in everything that they do. Their soccer program is first class and this is what we will do with the basketball program. We are excited to get started with kids from all over the world and not only train them to be excellent basketball players but help develop great human beings.” RSL Basketball Academy Head Coach David Evans said.
Players in the RSL Basketball Academy will live at the RSL Academy residential housing and attend school at the STEM-based RSL Academy High School in Herriman, Utah. The teams will play games at Salt Lake Community College in Taylorsville, Utah as the club constructs a basketball-specific facility within the next 18 months.
