The University of Texas men's basketball team is off to a blazing start to the 2022-23 season. The Longhorns are currently ranked No. 4 in the AP Top 25 poll, behind only North Carolina, Houston, and Kansas, and boast a 3-0 record. Furthermore, head coach Chris Beard and Texas have some recruiting wins that will help the team continue to be a formidable program.

According to Eric Bossi of 247Sports, after No. 12 prospect Ron Holland committed to Texas, another top prospect followed suit, giving the team its second five-star 2023 recruit. Prospect AJ Johnson of Castaic SoCal Academy committed to Texas on Monday. 

Bossi provided some context on just how impressive Johnson has looked thus far during his senior season: 

“A 6-foot-5 combo guard at Castaic (Calif.) SoCal Academy who is averaging 17 points, four assists and two steals per game through the early part of his senior year, Johnson is currently ranked No. 14 overall by 247Sports…”

AJ Johnson, 17, is a native of Fresno, California, and he was born and raised in the state. Along with Texas, Johnson received offers from over a dozen distinguished Division I programs, including Louisville, LSU, Arizona State, Creighton, Kansas, Missouri, New Mexico State, St. John's, and many others. 

Texas' college basketball recruiting class stacks up with almost every program in the nation, not named Kentucky, which has landed two top-five prospects in 2023. Adding two elite players in Ron Holland and Johnson to the already formidable group that Beard has assembled at Texas should make the Longhorns even more of a force to be reckoned with next season.