Former Pace student Matthew Cleveland signs with Dallas Mavericks
After years of hard work and practice, Matthew Cleveland is officially an NBA player.
After going undrafted in the 2025 NBA draft, the 6 ‘7’’ guard and Atlanta native signed a two-way contract with the Dallas Mavericks on July 8. The two-way contract allows Cleveland to split time between the Mavericks and the Texas Legends, which is the Mavericks’ G-League affiliate team.
Before his collegiate and now professional career, Cleveland left his mark at Pace Academy, playing for three years under Head Coach Sharman White. Cleveland helped lead the Pace Academy Knights to notoriety and became a five-star recruit and the 27th ranked high school basketball prospect in the country in 2021.
Cleveland eventually became the ACC Sixth-Man of the Year during his freshman year of college at Florida State University. He played there for three years and then transferred to the University of Miami to finish his collegiate career. During his final season with the Hurricanes, he averaged 17.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 1.7 assists, while shooting 51.1 percent from the field and 38.2 percent from three, allowing him to make the All-ACC Team Honorable Mentions.
White knows how hard it is to make it to the league and is proud of Cleveland’s accomplishments.
“I am extremely proud of Matt, because this is not an easy journey,” White said. “There are a lot of guys that dream of making it to the NBA, but very few can actually say they made it. He still has a few more steps to go, but he has finally gotten to that level.”
White continued to watch Cleveland’s development from afar after he graduated from Pace.
“I think Matt is a phenomenal athlete,” White said. “He has continued to grow in the game and develop his skills, like his ability to create his own shot. Matt is just an elite-level athlete, and he can do some things that just make people say ‘Wow,’ on the court.”
Cleveland joins the history books at Pace, becoming the second player from the school to go to the NBA. The first was Wendell Carter Jr., who was drafted seventh overall in 2018 to the Chicago Bulls and has since made a name for himself in the league as the starting center for the Orlando Magic.
Cleveland might be the second Pace player to make it to the NBA, but he is the first to do so during White’s tenure as head coach.
“It’s just an honor to be able to coach someone at that caliber,” White said. “When they’re in high school, you want to think they will make it to the NBA, but it’s a hard reality to focus on because it is such a hard venture. So him being able to accomplish it is good for our school, our community, him, his family, and our program.”
Even though the Mavericks passed him over in the draft, White praised the Dallas team for picking up Cleveland.
“I think the Mavericks have done their due diligence in seeking him out,” White said. “I think he’s going to be every bit of what they thought he could be.”
Cleveland has already begun playing with the Mavericks at summer league in Las Vegas. Coach White hopes to travel out there to see him in action.
In addition to coaching at Pace, White is also the head coach of the USA Basketball Men’s U17 National Team. Through this role, White also coached this year’s first pick Cooper Flagg, who is also headed to the Mavericks.
“I had the chance to coach Cooper on three different occasions, and I can say that he’s very deserving of that number one pick,” White said. “I’ve enjoyed every experience with him, and I’m looking forward to seeing him out there as well, and supporting him throughout his pro career.”
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