Wyoming Hoops Lands Pair of Verbal Commitments

LARAMIE -- Wyoming will whittle away at its 15-man roster over the next month.

Sundance Wicks said he currently has 11 guys who could play in a game. That number will be trimmed down by the season opener, too.

How?

Raise the stakes.

"There's going to be competition clusters at every spot," the third-year bench boss said. "And the one thing we hang our hat on is the development side of our program."

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While other programs around the country have all but abandoned recruiting the high school ranks, Wicks and his staff have doubled down. Sure, it's mandatory to utilize the ever-busy NCAA Transfer Portal -- and the Cowboys certainly will -- but evolution will continue to be a staple inside the Arena-Auditorium.

The staff already has a head start on next year's crop.

Josiah Jones and Terrence Richardson this week both announced their verbal commitment to join the fray next summer. Those are the first two -- and maybe only two -- who will be a part of the 2027-28 class.

They can sign on the dotted line Nov. 11, making it all official.

Jones, a 6-foot-1, 165-pound shooting guard from San Antonio, Texas, received 14 offers out of Harlan High School. Those came from Kansas State, Louisiana Tech and Texas State, among others.

ESPN named him a four-star prospect and the 10th-best player from the Lone Star State. The World Wide Leader also crowned him the No. 25 point guard in the nation.

"This skilled shot-maker has made vast improvements within his game in the past six-to-eight months," 247sports.com's Brandon Jenkins penned. "He is strong with the ball, plays with great pace and is a pure jump-shooter."

During his first two prep seasons, Jones netted 14 points per game, according to maxpreps.com. He shot 49% from both the field and beyond the arc during his sophomore campaign.

Richardson is a 6-foot-8 rim-rocker from Illinois, who will spend his final prep season at San Tan Charter School in Arizona. He is a right-handed forward who tips the scales at 185 pounds.

During his junior campaign at Hillcrest High School, Richardson averaged nearly six points per game and pulled down almost five rebounds a night. He also shot 60% from the field.

He received offers from Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and Wicks' former stomping grounds, Wisconsin-Green Bay.

Richardson was thrust into the starting lineup at Hillcrest during his junior season when future Purdue defensive lineman Max Carmicle was lost for the season with an injury.

“Terrence was a 5-foot-9, B-team player in his freshman year,” head coach Don Houston told the Chicago Sun Times last February. “He just stretched out and then he had to learn how to play with his length.

"... We put a lot of work into toughening him up. He’s been doing a great job.”

Wyoming added a pair of freshmen to its 2026-27 roster in guard Madden Smiley and forward Chris Pohl. The latter has been dealing with a nagging back injury. Smiley, Wicks' godson, has been the talk of camp.

The Cowboys also signed Kansas 5A Player of the Year Kelan Gruver, who came to Laramie as a walk-on.

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