Outlook
Tavian Cruse is a solid local product who became a  solid addition to the roster in 2024-25 after redshirting the previous season ... Versatile player who can do a lot of things ...  Has the ability to score in a variety of ways, both in the post and on the perimeter ... Was the best rebounder in he conference last year ... Night-in and night-out provides solid numbers ... Chappell says the best word to describe his play is "consistency".

Career
Part the greatest two-year runs in program history, helping JCCC to a record of 62-9, two undefeated conference championship seasons, two NJCAA Division II Tournament appearances with two eighth-place finishes and a No. 8 and No. 3 final ranking in the final season NJCAA Poll …  Became just the sixth player in program history to average double figures in both points (12.5) and rebounds (10.1) over a career … Finished his career with 889 total points and 714 total rebounds … Ranks 21^st all-time in career points and fourth all-time in rebounds … His 10.1 career rebound average tied for sixth all-time at JCCC … Set the career records for most games with 10-plus rebounds (42) and double-doubles (34) … Also ranks second in games led rebounding (43) and eight in games with 10-plus points (53) … At the national tournament, owns the career records for total rebounds (69) and field goals (37), ranks tied for fourth in total points (84) and fifth in rebounds per game average (8.6).

Sophomore Year 2025-26
Selected the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference Division II Most Valuable Player in 2025-26 … Named first-team All-KJCCC D-II and first-team All-Region 6 … Selected the KJCCC D-II Player of the Week three times over the course of the season, earning the award in week five, 12 and 14 … Was the NJCAA D-II National Player of the Week in week five …  … Helped JCCC make history by securing its first undefeated regular season in program history, finishing 29-0 … The Cavaliers would finish the season as KJCCC D-II champions, earn an at-large berth to the NJCAA D-II National Tournament where they would place eighth with an overall record of 31-3, tying the team record for victories in a season … Played in 34 games, 33 as a starter … Became just the 11^th player in program history average a double-double in points and rebounds for a season … Averaged 13.4 points and 10.2 rebounds … Scored in double figures in 29 games, had 10-plus rebounds in 21 games, producing 19 double-doubles tying the season mark set by Caleb Kennedy in 2001-02 … His 29 games scoring in double digits tie for ninth on JCCC’s season chart, and his 21 10-plus rebound games tie for second most in a season … Was the team’s top game rebounder 25 times, which ranks second all-time at JCCC … Shis 348 total rebounds are the seventh-most recorded in a season in team history … Shot 55.1 percent from the field (190-345),  36.1 percent from 3-point range (26-72) and 64.5 percent at the free throw line (49-76) … Also had 48 assists, 24 steals and 17 blocked shots … Led the conference in both total rebounds and rebounds per game … Ranked fourth in the NJCAA in total rebounds and eighth in rebounds per game … Finished fifth in the conference  with 190 made field goals, sixth in total points (455), 10^th in points per game, third in field goal accuracy and sixth in blocked shots … Got his sophomore season off to a strong start with a double-double of 21 points and 10 rebounds in a 143-65 romp over Kansas Christian JV (10-31-25) … Made 8-of-9 shots and was a perfect 5-for-5 at the free throw line … Poured in 23 points and grabbed 12 boards in an 84-81 come-from-behind victory over Chandler-Gilbert (11-21-25) … Selected the KJCCC and NJCAA Division II Player of the Week for week five after helping power the Cavaliers to an 85-79 comeback victory at Metropolitan with a monster double-double of 22 points and 15 rebounds (11-25-25) … Cruse made nine-of-16 shots and connected on four of seven free throw attempts. … Finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds in a 103-55 win over Baker JV (12-5-25) … Followed with a double-double of 10 points and 16 rebounds in a 123-57 blowout over Sterling JV (12-9-25) … Hit 6-of-8 shots including 3-of-4 from 3-point range for 17 points in an 88063 win over Metropolitan (12-13-25) … Opened the new year with a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds in a 92-87 victory at Southeast (1-4-26) … Followed with 14 and 10 in an 82-60 win over No. 10 North Central Missouri (1-7-26) … Had 17 points and nine boards in a 91-89 come-from-behind victory over No. 6 Iowa Central (1-10-26) … Hit 9-of-14 shots with a pair of 3-pointers for 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in a 105-74 win over Labette (1-21-26) … Picked up his second KJCCC D-II Player of the Week honor in week 12 after helping the Cavaliers remain unbeaten by leading JCCC to three double-digit victories while producing double digits in points and rebounds in all three games … Opened the week with 14 points and 10 rebounds in a 91-66 win at Fort Scott (1-26-26) before posting a 16-point, 12-rebound double-double two days later in an 81-55 win at Neosho County (1-28-26) … Capped the week off with another 14-point, 11 rebound outing, helping lead the Cavaliers to a 73-62 home win over Allen (1-31-26) … Brought down a career-high 19 rebounds and scored 13 points in an 81-67 win over Highland (2-7-26) .. His 19 rebound effort tied the eight-best game total in program history … Helped JCCC secure the first undefeated regular season in team history Earned his third KJCCC D-II Player of Week award in week 14 after recording a double-double in both JCCC victories which moved him into a tie for the all-time career mark in team history with 30 … In a 61-57 comeback win at Kansas City Kansas, finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds (2-11-26) … Followed with a 12-point, 13-rebound effort in a 66-56 win at Labette and finished the week shooting 56.5 percent from the field (2-14-26) … Posted a double-double of 14 points and 16 rebounds, and had five assists in an 80-63 win over Fort Scott (2-18-26) … Helped JCCC secure the first undefeated regular season in team history with a double-double-double of 12 points and 12 boards in a 75-70 win at Allen (2-25-26) … Named to the NJCAA Division II National All-Tournament Team … Scored in double figures in all four games at the NJCAA Division II Tournament and posted double digits in rebounds twice … Was the team’s second leading scorer (14.0) and leading rebounder (8.8) in the tournament … Tallied  56 total points to tie for 11^th by a JCCC player in national tournament history, and grabbed 35 total rebounds, second-most JCCC tournament history … His 8.8 rebounds per game average ranks seventh all-time … Shot .520 from the field (26-for-50) … His 26 made field goals tie for third most in team tournament history … Opened the tournament with 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting with two 3-pointers and nine rebounds in an 86-78 loss to No. 12 Parkland (3-16-26) … Finished with 12 points, six rebounds and three assists in a 77-59 win over No. 23 Coastal Alabama-North in the consolation quarterfinals (3-18-26) … Registered a double-double of 10 points and 10 boards in a 75-73 victory over No. 13 Schoolcraft in the consolation semifinals (3-20-26) … Closed out the tournament with a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds in a 104-93 loss to Lansing in the final (3-21-26).

Freshman year 2024-25

Helped Johnson County to undefeated conference championship season, a 31-6 overall mark and an eight-place finish at the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II National Tournament … Named second-team All-Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference and All-Region 6 Division II … Selected KJCCC D-II Player of the Week twice, earning the honor in week five and 15 …  Played in and started 37 games … Averaged 11.7 points, 9.9 rebounds and connected on 52.9 percent of his field goal attempts … His 366 total rebounds led the conference and the NJCAA, and his 9.9 game average led the conference and tied for 15^th nationally … That total also ranks fourth all-time for a season in team history … His 434 total points ranked fifth in the conference and his 11.7 per game average tied for 13^th … Also ranked third in the conference in field goal accuracy and fifth in blocks with 19 … Scored in double figures in 24 games, reached double digits in rebounds a team-high 21 times, which ties for second most in a season at JCCC, and led the team with 15 total double-doubles, which ties for fourth-most in a season in team history … Led the team in scoring seven times, was the top rebounder a team-high 18 times, led once in assists and seven times in steals … His 18 times leading in rebounds ties for 13^th for a season at JCCC … Began his collegiate career by posting his first double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds in an 82-64 win over Baker JV (11-1-24) … Hit 6-of-10 shots including two 3-pointers to finish with 14 points in a 78-66 win over Iowa Lakes (11-8-24) … Tallied 19 points and 16 rebounds in a 73-55 victor over Southwestern (11-9-24) … Followed with another double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds to help JCCC to a 68-59 win over Southeast (11-12-24) … Finished 12 points, 11 boards and three blocks in a 72-67 win over Palm Beach State (11-15-24) … Earned his first KJCCC D-II Player of the Week honor after posting a double-double of 17 points and 16 rebounds in a 111-42 romp over Kansas Christian JV (11-26-24) … Open conference play with a double-double of 15 point and 10 boards to lead JCCC to a 75-63 win over Neosho County (1-11-25) … Followed with 15 points and nine rebounds in a 77-72 victory at Kansas City Kansas (1-15-25) … Connected on 5-of-10 shots for 10 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in a 77-62 win over Hesston (2-1-25) … Followed with 17 points and 11 rebounds in a 71-51 victory at Neosho County (2-5-25) … Poured in a season-high 21 points and hauled down 12 boards in a 78-63 win over Kansas City Kansas (2-8-25) … Averaged 16.3 points, 9.0 rebounds and made 79.3 percent of his shot attempts over three games to pick up his second KJCCC D-II Player of the Week honor … Opened the week with 17 points and eight rebounds in 109-53 win over Baker JV (2-17-25 ) … Followed with 20 points and nine rebounds in a 91-60 win at Labette (2-20-25) and capped the week with 12 points and 10 boards in an 80-74 win at Fort Scott (2-22-25) … Posted another double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds in an 86-67 win at Hesston (2-26-25) … Led JCCC with 15 points and 11 rebounds in a 78-51 victory over Labette in the quarterfinals of the Region 6 Tournament (3-3-25) … Followed with nine points and 17 rebounds in a 68-60 win over Alle in the semifinals (3-7-25) … Made 9-of-13 shots for 19 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in a 74-73 loss to No. 19 Kansas City Kansas in the Region 6 Tournament (3-8-25) … Averaged 14.3 points, 13.7 rebounds and made 55.6 percent of his shots in the tournament … Named to the Region 6 Division II All-Tournament Team … Opened the NJCAA D-II National Tournament with six points and four rebounds in a 77-48 loss to No. 9 Macomb (3-17-25) … Grabbed 11 rebounds and scored four points in a 90-63 win over No. 19 Kansas City Kansas in the first round of the consolation bracket (3-19-25) … His 11 rebounds tie the eighth-best rebound effort in team history in tournament play … Posted his final double-double of the season with 10 points and 13 rebounds in an 81-75 win over No. 20 Henry Ford in the consolation semifinals (3-21-25) … His 13 rebounds tie the second-best game in tournament history by a Cavalier … Closed out the tournament with eight points and six rebounds in a 94-68 loss to No. 10 Florida State at Jacksonville in the consolation final (3-22-25) … Averaged 7.0 points and 8.5 rebounds over the tournament … Grabbed 34 total rebounds over the four games which ranks as the second-most in team history at nationals, and his 8.5 per game average ranks seventh.

Freshman Year 2023-24 

Was a redshirt in 2023-24.

High School

Was a three-year starter for coach Dan Streit at Bonner Springs High School, Bonner Springs, Kan. … Was named Kansas 5A All-State honorable mention by the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association, Sports in Kansas and the Wichita Eagle as a senior … Also an All-Frontier League first-team selection his senior year … Averaged 17.2 points per game as a senior, ninth best in class 5A in Kansas, and 12.9 rebounds with 66 assists and 41 steals … His 271 total rebounds set a team season record … As a junior averaged 7.9 points and 69 rebounds and as a sophomore averaged 6.3 points and 3.3 rebounds … Scored 653 points over his career and grabbed 481 rebounds … Also earned four varsity letters in tennis … Qualified for the 5A State Tournament in singles as a senior and placed 13^th overall … Earned All-Frontier League his junior and senior years … Finished with a record of 20-3 as a senior, 15-6 as a junior and 16-9 as a sophomore … Earned four varsity letters in soccer … Was an All-State selection and two-time All-Frontier League performer … Played club basketball for MoKan and Pehnom Boys … Graduated with a GPA over 3.5.

Personal

Born Tavian Ryan Cruse on April 14, 2005, in Olathe, Kansas … Nicknames are TC Dawg, Tay and T … Son of Jason and Kelli Cruse … Has three siblings Keyana, Deion and Dax … Majoring in business … Also recruited by Avila University, Bethany College and St. Louis Community College … Favorite foods are steak, chicken, seafood and pasta … Favorite fast food restaurant is Wendy’s … Favorite restaurant is EM Chamas Brazilian Grill … Favorite TV show is Grey’s Anatomy … Favorite movie is Avengers … Favorite sports show is Last Chance U … Favorite actor is Kevin Hart … Favorite book is Mamba Mentality … Favorite music entertainer is Rod Wave … Favorite cartoon character is Bugs Bunny … Favorite athletes are Steph Curry, Lionel Messi, Tiger Woods, Kevin Durant and LeBron James … Favorite sports teams are the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors … Best player he has played against is former Bishop Miege and current forward for the Miami Heat, Bol Bol … Greatest sports accomplishment was earning all-state in all three sports sports … Notable alumni from his school are former KU and NFL quarterback David Jaynes, former K-State and NBA forward Ed Nealy.