Texas continued its successful offseason Friday, landing a commitment from ESPN 100 forward Brock Cunningham.
Cunningham, ranked No. 90 in the ESPN 100, chose the Longhorns over Oklahoma and Stanford, with Pennsylvania also in pursuit.
"It felt like a good fit," Cunningham said. "From what I hear, Coach [Shaka] Smart is a player's coach. He spends a lot of time with them. He won't be distant."
Cunningham, a 6-foot-7 versatile forward, is an Austin, Texas, native and attends Westlake High School. His father, Ed, played football at Texas before a short career in the NFL.
"I went to a bunch of games when I was little," Brock said of the Longhorns. "I remember they were playing some Big 12 team; I said I want to play in that burnt orange one day. It has been a little bit of a dream of mine.
"It's close to home, which is nice. Close to my family, so I can still mess around with my brothers."
Cunningham, a four-star recruit, averaged 22.1 points and 10.4 rebounds per game on the Adidas Gauntlet circuit this spring and summer with the Urban ASAK AAU program. He is Texas' first commitment for the 2018 class.
"Their pitch was that I'm a tough guy who can come in and help the team, whether that be playing or practicing my freshman year," Cunningham said. "They kind of said I would be a versatile guy who would go rebound and shoot the 3."
Smart has looked to rebuild Texas after its last-place Big 12 finish in 2016-17. The Longhorns landed No. 3 senior Mohamed Bamba in the spring, beating out Kentucky, Duke and others. Smart also convinced potential first-round pick Andrew Jones to return to Austin for his sophomore season.
Cunningham is the first piece in what could be a big class for Smart and the Longhorns. The top target is five-star wing Keldon Johnson (No. 14 in the ESPN 100), with guard Quentin Grimes (No. 30) and forward Kamaka Hepa (No. 63) also major priorities.