AMHERST, N.Y. - Former Daemen College basketball standout Arif Mehmetaj has agreed to contract terms with Golden Eagle Ylli, a professional team based in Therande, Kosovo that competes in the Kosovo Basketball Super League.

"I am grateful for the opportunity to continue my basketball career at the professional level," said Mehmetaj. "Kosovo is my parents' native country, and I am honored to play back home."

Mehmetaj joins a Golden Eagle Ylli team that recently signed three other American college products—6-foot-9 forward Taylor Bessick out of Iona College, 5-foot-11 guard Mike Harmon of Northeastern State University and 6-foot-1 guard Anthony McDonald of North Carolina Central University

The 2017-18 season will be the fourth in a row in the Kosovo Super League for Golden Eagle Ylli. The team finished fifth in the eight-team league last year with an 11-16 record. One of the oldest clubs in Kosovo, Golden Eagle Ylli was founded in 1975 and is well known for its fan support.

Mehmetaj spent three years at Daemen after transferring from SUNY Delhi. His first season in a Daemen uniform was cut short after he suffered a season-ending injury during the third game of the season. He rebounded with a solid junior season in 2015-16, as he started 28 of 29 games and collected second-team All-East Coast Conference honors after averaging 15.2 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. He also finished first on the team in three-pointers made (47) and blocks (29). He repeated as a second-team All-ECC selection as a senior after leading the Wildcats in scoring (15.6 ppg), rebounding (5.2 rpg) and blocks (27).

He led the Wildcats to a combined 38-19 record during his two seasons as a starter. Overall, Mehmetaj appeared in 57 games while making 53 starts. He totaled 856 points (15.0 ppg), 343 rebounds (6.0 rpg) and 57 blocked shots (1.0 bpg), while shooting 45.6 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from three-point range.

"We are really happy for Arif and excited for him to continue his career in Europe," said Daemen head coach Mike MacDonald. "It's great when guys do well in college on the court and in the classroom and then they get an opportunity to pursue a professional career playing the game they love. After Arif graduated he said he wanted to try and continue to play, and now he has that opportunity. Daemen has a tradition of sending guys to play at the next level, and we are pumped that Arif will continue that tradition."

Mehmetaj is the latest Daemen graduate to move on to the professional ranks in recent years. 2015 graduate Gerald Beverly recently signed with Maccabi Rishon, a team which competes in the top professional league in Israel. Beverly spent spent the 2016-17 season in the National Basketball Association Development League (D-League), playing for the Canton Charge. Beverly's time in Canton was impressive enough for the Cleveland Cavaliers to give him an opportunity with them during the 2017 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.  Beverly's pro career began during the 2015-16 season in Germany, playing for Telekom Baskets. 2014 graduate Uchechi Ogbonna played professionally during the 2014-15 season in El Salvador for CD Aguila, and was selected in the third round of the 2016 NBA D-League Draft by the Texas Legends. Also, Torrence Dyck, who played for the Wildcats from 2014-16 and left as the program's all-time leader in points per game average (20.7), played his first professional season (2016-17) in both Turkey and Switzerland. Jorge Ebanks, who averaged 11.7 points per game in his one season in a Daemen uniform (2009-10), continues to play professionally in England. Other former Wildcats who have played professionally overseas in recent years include Ajay Rutledge (Mexico, Ireland, Singapore), Moustapha Baidy (France) and Dom Mazzocchi (Malta).

"I have coached for a long time, and I have always encouraged guys if they have the opportunity to postpone adulthood and play for a couple of more years they should explore the opportunity," added MacDonald. "The most important thing is that once the ball stops bouncing, they have a college degree that they can use to help get a job. The facts are that Arif has a very valuable Daemen degree that he can use whenever his basketball career ends."

A native of Jamaica, N.Y., Mehmetaj earned his bachelor's degree in Business Administration with a specialization in Sport Management.