CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Champaign Swarm have bolstered their roster in preparation for the final games of the regular season and playoffs by signing forward Josh Chichester and guard Anthony Spencer, Swarm head coach Chris Daleo announced on Wednesday.  Both players had standout seasons this year in the Premier Basketball League.

The Swarm have also released forward Carl Mitchell, and the Champaign roster now stands at 12 active players.

“Adding these players gives us some versatility,” Daleo said.  “Josh and Anthony can play multiple positions for us. They not only help us with our transitional game, but also our half-court game.”

Chichester began his professional athletic career as a football player after playing tight end at the University of Louisville, but he decided last year to hang up his cleats for a pair of basketball sneakers.

The 6-foot-8 forward started his basketball career this season with Grand Rapids Cyclones of the Premier Basketball League, where he averaged nearly a double-double with 17.8 points per game and 9.3 rebounds per contest in 15 games.

As a high school athlete, Chichester received Division I scholarship offers for both basketball and football. He briefly played basketball at Louisville and then four years of football for the Cardinals. He parlayed that into several stints in professional football, including an NFL training camp, the Canadian Football League and indoor football teams.

In 2014, Chichester returned to basketball. After a working out at combines, he was the first overall draft pick in the Premier Basketball League by the Cyclones.

Spencer had some eye-catching numbers from his time this year with the Racine Storm of the PBL. The 6-foot-6 guard had a 28.2 scoring average on nearly 55 percent shooting with 9.9 rebounds per game. He played collegiately at Johnson County Community College (Iowa).

Both players will active for tonight’s Swarm contest against the Chicago Force at 7 p.m. at the Kroc Center in Chicago. The game will be broadcast on www.theMPBA.com.