5-star recruit Isiah Harwell chooses Houston over Gonzaga

Top 10 recruit in 2025 class from Wasatch Academy chose the Cougars over the Zags, Cal and Texas

Dec 10, 2022; Scottsdale, AZ, USA; Wasatch Academy Tigers guard Isiah Harwell (1) against Long Island Lutheran during the HoopHall West basketball tournament at Chaparral High School / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Isiah Harwell, a five-star recruit in the 2025 class, has committed to Kelvin Sampson and Houston over the Gonzaga Bulldogs. The 6-foot-6 guard out of Wasatch Academy (Utah) is the No. 7 ranked player in his class according to 247Sports.

Originally from Pocatello, Idaho, Harwell is the highest-ranked recruit in Houston men's basketball history.

Thursday marked nearly two weeks since he completed an official visit to Texas (Aug. 30 - Sept. 1) and it’s been nearly three weeks since his official visit to Houston (Aug. 22-25). Harwell also went on an official visit with Cal in June, as he's a family friend of assistant coach Amarrow Morgan.

By the time decision day rolled around, it had been over 200 days since Harwell’s visit to Spokane back on Feb. 24, when he was in attendance for the Bulldogs’ home win over Santa Clara at the McCarthey Athletic Center. 

“I've seen all the great coaches and the great camaraderie throughout the team, and the environment is crazy," Harwell said of his Gonzaga visit. "Everything's been good. I like the town, the school is super chill. I like the vibes. Over the years, they've had a lot of big guards like Jalen Suggs, so I feel like I can come in and be like one of them."

Wasatch Academy has been known to develop blue-chip recruits in recent years. Gonzaga guard Nolan Hickman, the 22nd-ranked recruit in the class of 2021, played alongside BYU duo Fousseyni Traore and Richie Saunders, Michigan's Roddy Gayle and Creighton's Pop Isaacs during Hickman's senior at Wasatch in 2020-21.

“Very, very talented kid,” former Gonzaga All-American Dan Dickau said of Harwell. “[He’s] very athletic, can shoot it at a fairly high level for a high school kid with all expectations that he’s got the mechanics and the opportunity to be a dynamic scorer at the next level.”

Four-star guard Davis Fogle, who committed to Gonzaga back in July, is the lone commit in Few's 2025 class. The Bulldogs remain in the mix for four-star wing Nikolas Khamenia and five-star point guard Kingston Flemings, both of whom have Gonzaga in their list of final five schools, as well as top 10 recruit Jalen Haralson and four-star small forward Efeosa Oliogu.

Flemings, a top 25 player in the class, scheduled a visit to Gonzaga for Oct. 4-6 and is slated to be in attendance for the Kraziness in the Kennel event on Oct. 5.