The nation’s top ranked prospect, according to several recruiting services announces he will be joining the Class of 2026:
By: Ross Van De Griek
The No. 1 overall ranked player, Marcus Spears Jr. announced he will be committing to the University of Texas and play under head coach Sean Miller on Thursday. He also will reclass from 2027 to join the Longhorns roster for the upcoming season.
Spears chose the Longhorns over Arizona, Arkansas, Kentucky, LSU, Louisville, Maryland, Miami, Michigan, North Carolina, and several others. Spears has family ties with the Longhorns program as his older sister (Cari) currently plays on the volleyball team.
Spears took official visits to Arizona and made a trip to Austin last month. The 6-foot-9 power forward also held offers from Oklahoma State, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Stanford, Tennessee, Texas A&M, USC, and Virginia.
Spears is the son of NFL on ESPN analyst Marcus Spears, who spent 9 years in the National Football League (NFL) playing for the Dallas Cowboys (2005-2012) and Baltimore Ravens (2013). His mother (Aiysha) spent two seasons playing in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) for the Washington Mystics (2003-2004).
During the 2025-2026 season at Dynamic Prep School in Irving, Texas, Spears averaged 17.1 points, 7.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 2.4 blocks, and 0.9 steals per game. He dominated during the spring circuit with Team Drive Nation on the Nike EYBL Circuit, where he averaged 20.9 points and 8.7 rebounds per game as one of the only players in the nation to finish in the top 10 for both scoring and rebounding.
He also helped lead USA Basketball to a gold medal at the FIBA U16 Men’s AmeriCup in 2025, averaging a team-high 14.0 points and 6.5 rebounds while earning All-Star Five honors.
Spears becomes the highest-rated recruit for the program, where he joins former five-star recruit Tre Johnson (2024) and is the fifth five-star recruit in the last six recruiting cycles to sign with the Longhorns. He also joins Arterio Morris (2022), Ron Holland (2023), and Johnson (2024), who did not sign, and true freshman point guard Austin Goosby (2026).
Spears just turned 17 years old back on April 8, and he will have to wait until the 2028 National Basketball Association (NBA) Draft to be eligible.
Spears joins four-star guard Bo Ogden (#44 nationally ranked prospect), four-star guard Austin Goosby (#23 nationally ranked prospect), four-star guard Joe Sterling (#125 nationally ranked prospect), three-star center Coleman Elkins, and guard Mantas Laurencikas, who hails from Lithuania as part of the upcoming recruiting class under Miller.
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Ross Van De Griek has been a Southeast Region Scout for On The Radar Hoops since 2024 and has been the Owner/Founder of Southeast Hoops Report since June 2026. You can follow along with his work on X (@SEHoopsReport), Instagram (sehoopsreport), and Facebook (@sehoopsreport).