UAB Lands a Proven Scorer in Justyn Fernandez
By Steve Irvine
BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA - April 27 2026
Justyn Fernandez is not only a veteran of college basketball but he is also veteran of college basketball recruiting.
Fernandez has been through four recruiting cycles since beginning college basketball. The latest one, which landed him at UAB over the weekend, had a different feel to it.
“High school (recruitment) is a lot more relationship-based,” Fernandez said. “Right now, it's just like fast-paced. You know, people obviously just trying to fill out their roster and things like that. I think more than anything, me being an older guy, being in college and being on different sides, having different roles as a college guy, I just think knowing what you're looking for is one of the things that makes the process a lot easier. You're kind of able to weed through things that don't really fit necessarily in what you want and vice versa, maybe you don't fit a certain program and things like that. I just think being older, you kind of just have a little bit more knowledge of what you want out of it and what you're looking for in a program.”
All of which led him to the conclusion that UAB was the place he wanted to spend what is probably his final college season.
“I think UAB is a perfect fit for everything,” Fernandez said.
The 6-foot-5, 200-pound shooting guard, who is from Richmond, Va., made three college basketball stops before choosing to come to Birmingham. The former 247 Sports 4-star recruit, who finished his high school career at IMG Academy in Florida, chose George Mason out of high school before moving on to play two seasons at Providence. His most productive season came last year at Delaware, where he averaged 16.6 points and 4.6 rebounds while playing more than 37 minutes per game in 28 games as a starter. He had 10 games of 20-plus points, including a career high 30 points at Jacksonville State, 25 games of at least 10 points and made 64 3-pointers while shooting 40.3 percent from outside the arc.
“I think I think it was a real opportunity, you know, I was able to actually play and step out and make an impact,” said Fernandez, who played 14 minutes in 33 games as a true freshman at George Mason, missed his first season at Providence because of a knee injury and played 10 minutes per game in 24 appearances in his second Providence season. “I think the coaches, they relied on me a lot. I was still coming in as one of the older guys, just having prior knowledge playing at the high major level. So, just trying to help lead a group to win games. That experience more than anything is going to help translate over to a program and obviously translates to winning.”
Fernandez said he had a lot of attention after entering the portal. One of UAB’s former players assisted in helping him become interested in the Blazers.
“I knew a player that was over there this past year, Chance Westry,” Fernandez said. “He raves about Coach (Andy Kennedy), so that was something that interested me once I knew the interest was there (from UAB).”
Fernandez also said the clean slate that he’s coming into, with sophomore-to-be Salim London the lone returning scholarship player, was also intriguing.
“Obviously, it's something that will kind of obviously be new for everyone,” Fernandez said. “But I think there's a culture that's already set within the staff. Their leadership as a staff definitely is going to trickle down to the players, even though we're all from different places. This is everyone's first year outside of the one returner. This would be everyone's first year. It’s good when the coaches already have a culture set and a lot of times, obviously, the players are the one that take that over. I'm just excited to push that and fall right into the culture, but also continue to bring everybody else up to the same standard.”
Fernandez visited UAB last weekend, at the same time as fellow signee Deuce Jones, a Trenton, New Jersey guard, who played at nearby La Salle and Saint Joseph’s over the past two seasons. Fernandez signed with the Blazers on the visit and left with a clear view of what he needs to bring to his new team.
“I think I'm a shooter, but I think at the same time, I think that there's a lot more that I can do,” Fernandez said. “I think I have an underrated playmaking ability. There's a playmaking aspect that I think I'm really going to be able to show this year. I think there's a defending aspect I'm really going to be able to show this year. But I think more than anything, the shooting kind of jumps off the board, but I think that there's a lot of other aspects to my game that I'm excited to bring down to UAB and excited to get to show.”