OKLAHOMA CITY (Oct. 26, 2020) – A German pro basketball team announced on Monday the signing of former Oklahoma Christian standout Elijah Strickland.

Strickland will play for the VfL Kirchheim Knights, a club located in Kirchheim unter Teck, Germany. The Knights compete in ProA, the second-highest professional league in that European nation. Strickland's brother, Desmond Strickland, is the club's youth coordinator

"My brother … always talked about the great organization and great fans that are here and that's something I wanted to be a part of," Elijah Strickland said in a video posted on the club's Facebook page. "I'm hoping to have a great season this year, despite COVID and all the changes it has (caused)."

A 6-foot-3 guard from Burkburnett, Texas, Strickland was a four-year starter for OC from the 2014-15 season through the 2017-18 season. As a senior, he averaged 18.1 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game, finishing second in the Heartland Conference in scoring and leading the NCAA Division II league in minutes played. His 98 3-pointers that season ranked fifth in Heartland history.

In 2018, he made the All-Heartland second-team list as well as the all-tournament team at the Heartland Conference Championship after leading the upstart Eagles to the title game. In one of the more dramatic games in recent OC hoops history, he had the game-winning three-point play with 2.1 seconds in overtime to lift the Eagles past St. Edward's (Texas) 94-93 in the tournament semifinals.

The German team signed the 24-year-old Strickland after some of its other guards suffered preseason injuries.

"Elijah made a great impression," the Knights' managing director, Chris Schmidt, said in a press release. "He can be used flexibly in all guard positions and due to the injuries, we need protection in this position. We will wait (during) the next weeks and months and see how everything develops."

OC head coach Kendre Talley was an assistant on the Eagles' staff during Strickland's playing days and also played professionally in Germany, during the 2014-15 season.

"I'm super excited for Elijah," Talley said. "He has worked hard to make his dream come true. His academics have always been number one for him. These past couple of years he's taken off from basketball to finish his nursing degree, and to grind and earn this opportunity shows the dedication he has. I'm excited for him to join the family of pros from this university!"

Strickland is the fourth former OC player currently on a pro basketball roster, joining his former teammates Miroslav Jaksic (Trelleborg in Sweden) and Sebastian Davet (Starwings Basket Regio Basel in Switzerland) as well as Dedrian Parmer Jr. (Gzira Athleta in Malta).

Other former OC standouts who have played professionally include Cory Cole, Brad Wedel, John Nottley, Fred Garcia, Brandon Kephart, Jon Jonnson, Michael Hill, Jacques Vandescure, Keith Harris, Lionel Saban, Casimiro Laguna, Jarred Merrill, Will Reinke, Talley and Chiza Ntirata.