— After one season in Raleigh, former North Carolina State guard Lavar Batts Jr. is headed west.

UNC Asheville announced Friday that Batts would join their program after sitting out the 2018-19 season.

"We are extremely excited about Lavar joining our program," head basketball coach Mike Morrell said in a statement. "He is a great fit for UNC Asheville as a person and for our style of play on the floor. Our fans are going to love having him as a part of our family."

A 6-foot-2, 170-pound guard from Concord, N.C., Batts played in 30 games for the Wolfpack as a freshman. He averaged 3.7 points, 1.5 assists and 1.2 rebounds per game. Batts had a season-high five assists in NC State's upset of second-ranked Duke on Jan. 6.

Batts was listed as the top-ranked player in the state of North Carolina by 247Sports and Rivals coming out of high school. The consensus four-star recruit was ranked among the top-100 players in the country as a senior by 247Sports, Rivals and ESPN.

Batts played his high school basketball at Jay M. Robinson High School in Concord, N.C. for his father, Lavar Batts, Sr. He ended his prep career as the all-time leading scorer in Cabarrus County history with 2,174 points.