Marcus Spears Jr., the No. 1 ranked prospect in the 2027 class, has committed to Texas and will reclassify to join the Longhorns for the 2026-27 season, Spears told ESPN on Thursday. Spears turned 17 in April, and will spend at least two years in Austin before he is eligible for the NBA Draft.
Spears, a 6-foot-10 power forward, emerged as the undisputed top recruit after leading Team USA to a FIBA AmeriCup gold medal last summer. Ahead of his junior season, he transferred to Dynamic Prep, a Texas sports academy just 25 minutes from his Plano home.
“Marcus Jr. grew up in Texas, and there’s nothing like playing for your home school and winning,” former NFL defensive Marcus Spears Sr. told ESPN. “This is his decision and his future.”
With Arizona, Arkansas, LSU and Alabama also in pursuit, the Spears family developed a relationship with Texas coach Sean Miller. When prep season wrapped, Spears took a series of official and unofficial visits to Austin, where his sister Macaria, a volleyball star, was already enrolled.
“Miller has a basketball plan for him, and he has coached and developed some of the best in the game: Deandre Ayton and Aaron Gordon,” Spears Sr. told ESPN. “ He has created a culture of player development, toughness, and winning.”
As a junior, Spears averaged 20.9 points and 8.7 rebounds per game on the EYBL Circuit. His combination of size and guard skills made him a unicorn. In three years of AAU, the two-way four was touted for his transition play, decision-making, rim protection and offensive touch. Spears still struggles from the perimeter and will work to develop his outside jumper at Texas.
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Miller’s offseason additions of five-star recruits Austin Goosby and Bo Ogden, plus one of the top transfer classes in the nation (David Punch, Amari Evans, Isaiah Evans) had Texas primed for SEC play before Spears’ reclassification. In his most recent Never-Too-Early Top 25, Seth ranked the Longhorns fourteenth.
With the addition of one of the strongest two-way forwards in basketball, Texas becomes a bona fide contender. Spears’ attitude is the same as it always has been: head down, dialed in.
“I’m going to have to work for everything I get,” he told ESPN. “As a sophomore, I averaged only eight minutes a game. I am going to embrace this opportunity. I know there will be expectations of me. My focus is to stick to the work that has gotten me to this point.”
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