Boom.
Bryce McGowens, a 5-star guard from Piedmont, South Carolina, committed to Nebraska on Friday, giving Fred Hoiberg the Huskers’ first 5-star commit during the recruiting website era.
COMMITTED🌽 #GBR #MBK #PuBd pic.twitter.com/21YZDyiVbq
— Bryce McGowens (@BryceMcgowens5) November 13, 2020
McGowens, the younger brother of Nebraska junior Trey McGowens, is a 6-foot-6, 170-pound guard who originally committed to Florida State on Feb. 8. However, on Oct. 8, he decommitted from the Seminoles and Nebraska made a push to land the high-scoring guard.
McGowens named a final five, then cut the list down to just two — Nebraska and Georgia. He picked Hoiberg and the Huskers over Tom Crean and the Bulldogs on Friday, becoming the third member of Nebraska’s 2021 recruiting class. On Wednesday, Ranger College sharpshooter Keisei Tominaga and Mater Dei forward Wilhelm Breidenbach signed with the Huskers.
McGowens is the 25th-ranked player in the 2021 class according to the 247Sports Composite. His addition gives Nebraska the 24th-best recruiting class in the country according to 247Sports, good for fourth among Big Ten teams.
Nebraska announced that it had received his letter of intent soon after his commitment, making it official.
“I believe that signing Bryce changes the whole trajectory of our program,” Nebraska Coach Fred Hoiberg said. “He is the centerpiece of what I believe is the strongest class that Nebraska basketball has ever signed. Since I’ve been here, we have talked about building a program that can have sustained success, and adding a player of Bryce’s caliber shows that we building something special here. It shows that Nebraska can compete for some of the top players in the country. It also says a lot about the type of person that Bryce is. He wanted to go to a place where he can create a legacy and help Nebraska basketball reach new heights.”
He’s completing his senior year at Legacy Charter in Greenville, South Carolina. McGowens spent his first three years of high school at Wren in Piedmont. As a junior, he averaged 25.3 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.5 blocks while shooting 53% from the field, 38% from 3 and 76% from the free-throw line.
As a sophomore, he put up 26.0 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.7 steals per game on 55-45-79 shooting splits. McGowens made an immediate impact at Wren as a freshman, averaging 18.3 points while shooting 41% from deep.
McGowens’ addition puts Nebraska one over the scholarship limit for 2021-22.
The only other 5-star recruit in program history is forward Isaac Copeland, who transferred to Nebraska from Georgetown to play for Tim Miles. Before McGowens, the highest-rated player to commit to Nebraska out of high school during the recruiting website era was point guard Glynn Watson, ranked 77th overall according to the 247Sports Composite. The second-highest is Breidenbach at 88th nationally.
