Last season was a strong year for Kelvin Sampson and the Houston Cougars. They earned the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and reached the Sweet 16 before being eliminated. With Jamal Shead off to the NBA, the Cougars are still expecting a strong roster for 2024-25. Houston added to that roster this week with the commitment of Isiah Harwell as per Joe Tipton of On3 Sports.
Isiah Harwell’s commitment to Houston gives them their highest ranked recruit in program history. Harwell is considered a five-star recruit and one of the top high school basketball players in Utah. From the class of 2025, Harwell will be finishing up his senior season this year at powerhouse Wasatch Academy.
Harwell told On3 Sports that his commitment to the Cougars came because of the culture that Sampson has established within the program.
“I chose Houston because the culture fit. I feel like I can thrive and succeed there and I believe in Coach Sampson and his whole staff,” Harwell said. “Coach Sampson has a way with speaking that just makes me motivated and ready to play. He also has a lot of experience and knows what he’s looking for.”
Harwell is a shooting guard who has confidence making plays with the ball in his hands. The Cougars have an experienced, upperclassmen roster for next season, but Harwell could see immediate plying time.
Houston looking for another strong season
Coming into the 2024 NCAA Tournament, the Cougars looked like a national championship favorite. But their run ended in the Sweet 16 following an injury to star guard Jamal Shead. Shead is now in the NBA having been drafted by the Toronto Raptors. But this is still an experienced and talented group.
Harwell is not the only top high school commitment that Houston has coming into the 2024-25 season. He will be joined by Mercy Miller from Sherman Oaks Notre Dame High School in California and Chase McCarty from IMG Academy in Florida. Both are also top-100 recruits.
The Cougars were also able to avoid major losses in the transfer portal with Damian Dunn being the team’s lone transfer to Pittsburgh. With Shead gone, Houston got help from the transfer portal in the form of point guard Milos Uzan from Oklahoma.
Returning to help lead Houston is L.J.Cryer who was the team’s leading scorer from last season. They’ll also get a huge boost with the return of Terrance Arceneaux who missed the majority of the 2023-24 season due to an Achilles injury.
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