Former Maryville Saints basketball guard Trae Pemberton (Indianapolis, Ind. / Lawrence Central) signed a professional contract to play for the Tralee Warriors in the Irish Super League, the premier professional league in Ireland. Pemberton graduated from Maryville in 2015. The head coach for Tralee Warriors is Mark Bernsen, who previously coached at Missouri State University and the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
 
"I am excited about having a dream of playing basketball professionally come true," Pemberton said. "I have been working towards this for a while, a great opportunity came up, and I am looking forward to taking advantage of it. I had an amazing four years being a student-athlete at Maryville and being a part of SaintsNation. I know I'll always have the support of everyone there because 'Once a Saint, Always a Saint.'"
 
"I could not be happier for Trae as he pursues his dream of playing professional basketball," Saints head men's basketball coach Kevin Carroll said. "He has a great story, going from an undervalued recruit to an all-conference player and now to a professional athlete. There is no better example within our program of how hard work and dedication can take you places in life that were previously unimaginable.  I am thankful to have been a part of his journey and look forward to watching his career continue to flourish."
 
Pemberton was a second-team All-Great Lakes Valley Conference selection after his senior season which saw him average 16 ppg, shoot .870 percent at the free-throw line and hit 61 3-pointers. Pemberton finished his career in 14th place on Maryville's all-time scoring list with 1,126 points. He is tied for the most games played with 113, is second in free-throw percentage at .832 and is second in 3-point field goal percentage at .420. Pemberton ranked fifth in career 3-pointers made with 157 and finished his Saints career ninth all-time in steals with 123.