MARTIN, Tenn. – University of Tennessee at Martin head men’s basketball coach Jeremy Shulman inked junior guard Tarence Guinyard out of Florida State College at Jacksonville today as part of National Signing Day.
“I’m so pumped to welcome Tarence to the Skyhawk family,” Shulman said. “In my mind, Tarence was the best guard in the state of Florida last year. He can play either guard position – he can really score and really pass. He processes the game at a high level. He is a fantastic addition here at UT Martin.”
A 6-2, 170-pounder from Jacksonville, Fla., Guinyard was part of a record-setting surge at FSCJ in 2023-24 under head coach John Putyrski. The Blue Wave went 26-10, won the Florida College System Activities Association Region 8 championship for the first time ever and won their first ever national tournament game before falling to eventual national runner-up South Suburban College. The 26 victories were tied with the 1981-82 team for the most in school history and were more wins than the program had produced in the previous four seasons combined.
Guinyard started in all 63 of his games over his two-season stint at FSCJ, pouring in 1,302 points (20.7 per game), 347 rebounds, 209 assists and 131 steals. He made a remarkable 154 three-pointers (including 101 alone in 2023-24) and 338 free throws in his junior college career. He was named Region 8 Player of the Year, an All Sun-Lakes Conference honoree and the Region 8 Tournament Most Outstanding Player in 2023-24 while also capturing FCSAA Region 8 Player of the Week four times.
Guinyard averaged 21.2 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.1 steals per game as a sophomore and produced 21 games of at least 20 points, including eight outbursts of at least 30 points. His career-best 43-point effort came on Dec. 3 against South Georgia Technical College on Dec. 3, aided by a 7-of-13 performance from three-point land and a 14-for-18 showing from the free theow line. He knocked down at least four 3-pointers in a dozen different contests, including a season-best eight triples against Santa Fe College on Nov. 28. He also canned double-digit free throws five times, including an 18-for-20 effort against Hillsborough Community College on Nov. 11. He grabbed a season-high nine rebounds three times and distributed a career-best nine assists against St. Clair County Community College on March 21. He put together 23 multi-steal games (career-high of five set twice) during his sophomore campaign.
As a freshman, Guinyard was an All-Central Conference first teamer in 2022-23 under head coach Frank Burnell. He was responsible for 20.0 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.1 steals per game and had 16 outings of at least 20 points in 2022-23, including three 30-plus-point performances. His season-best 36 points came via a season-high seven treys at Florida SouthWestern State College on Nov. 17 while he also collected 36 points at Polk State College on Feb. 1. He additionally had two more games where he made double-digit free throws during his impressive freshman campaign. He compiled a pair of double-doubles, including a 34-point, career-high 10-rebound performance against Polk State College on Jan. 14. He swiped multiple steals in 17 different games, six of which included four or more steals (including five in his collegiate debut at Indian River State College on Nov. 1).
Guinyard was a three-time all-conference first team honoree at both Lee High School and Lennard High School, combining for 2,191 career points between them. He attended Lee as a senior, averaging 16.1 points and three steals per game. He broke the Lennard all-time assists record and was District Player of the Year as a junior.
