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Isiah Harwell graduates from Wasatch Academy ahead of his Houston Cougars career

Modified May 24, 2025 18:28 GMT

Isiah Harwell has officially graduated from Wastach Academy. The five-star guard is set to begin his college basketball career with the Houston Cougars.

On Saturday, the official account of Houston men's basketball shared a picture from Harwell's graduation and congratulated him.

"Congratulations @isiah_harwell1! Class of 2025 | Wasatch Academy #ForTheCity x #GoCoogs," read the post's caption.

Isiah Harwell chose to join the Houston Cougars over offers from programs like Gonzaga University Bulldogs, California Golden Bears, Texas Longhorns and North Carolina Tar Heels.

Harwell, who suffered a knee injury in his junior year, expressed that Houston's persistent attempt to recruit him despite his injury was one of the reasons he decided to commit. The environment and culture at Houston were also major factors.

"Houston was very consistent recruiting me during my injury and rehab," Harwell told ESPN. "On my visit, it was a family atmosphere. I got to spend a lot of time with the players and we ended up sitting around and they were talking (about) how they all arrived at Houston. Their culture is real."

Getting to work with Coach Kelvin Sampson was also an incentive for Isiah Harwell.

"Coach Sampson is a cool dude," Harwell said. "He knows what it takes for players to reach the next level. We talked about that. I need to shoot 38-40% from 3, average six or seven rebounds and play defence on the opponent's best perimeter player. He said if you don't play defence, you won't play at Houston."

Isiah Harwell adds Wastach's Visel Cup to his decorated high school career

Isiah Harwell, the overall No. 13 prospect in the Class of 2025 (according to On3's Top Recruits rankings), has ended his high school career with the Wasatch Academy Visel Cup for Outstanding Male Performer in a Single Sport.

The 6-foot-5 shooting guard began at Century High School in Pocatello, Idaho, where he averaged 18 points and eight rebounds as a freshman before transferring to Wasatch Academy.

Harwell averaged 4 points, 3.7 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 0.6 blocks at Wasatch over two seasons. In his junior year, he led the Tigers to a 25-5 record, averaging 14.9 ppg, 4.7 rpg and 1.9 apg in the Nike Elite Basketball League. He finished his senior season averaging 13.0 ppg and 2.7 rpg.

Internationally, Harwell helped Team USA win the 2023 FIBA Americas U16 Championship, with a standout performance against Mexico: eight points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals.

About the author

Nishant is a Delhi-based journalist at Sportskeeda specializing in High School Sports. He graduated in Mathematical Sciences and is pursuing a Masters in Operational Research at Delhi University.

With his educational background and over four years of experience, Nishant likes to be precise with information. He is passionate about cricket, football, basketball, and chess, often writing about events and game analysis.

His favorite team is the Michigan Wolverines, and he thoroughly enjoyed their unbeaten season and championship win, especially when it culminated in Jim Harbaugh fulfilling his promise of getting a tattoo.

When he is not working or watching sports, Nishant likes to play football and write poetry. Wrapping everything in humor with relatable memes and defending his heart out on the football field is why he gets up every day.

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