Apr. 17—The Idaho men's basketball program continued its recruiting surge with the addition of a locally produced player who became a Gem State prep hoops legend just south of the Palouse before spending his first two collegiate seasons at neighboring Washington State.Kase Wynott, who claimed 2024 Idaho Gatorade Player of the Year honors as a senior at Lapwai High, signed with the Vandals on Friday, the program announced."Kase is coming home," Idaho coach Alex Pribble said in a statement. "He was a recruit we really prioritized when our staff first got here, so it's exciting to officially get him in a Vandal uniform."The 6-foot-6 guard is the state's all-time high school scoring leader with 2,962 career points.

He's also the Idaho prep record-holder for single-game scoring with 68 points. Wynott nearly averaged a triple-double during his senior year, recording 36 points, 13.9 rebounds and 9.1 assists per game for small-school powerhouse Lapwai, which is located just east of Lewiston on the Nez Perce Reservation."We want the best players from Idaho to be in this program, and Kase is the all-time leading scorer from the state, so we're very excited," Pribble said. "He can really score the ball, he's got a diverse skill set, and he's a competitor.

He'll make an immediate impact next year."Wynott won three state championships with the Wildcats — two alongside Titus Yearout, a senior guard for the Vandals — and became a coveted prep prospect, initially signing with Utah State over offers from Washington, Idaho and Eastern Washington before flipping to WSU.Wynott appeared in 24 games as a freshman at WSU, averaging 1.2 points and 1.5 rebounds in 13.4 minutes per game. He played in five games for the Cougars last season, averaging 4.0 points in 9.6 minutes per game. Wynott was one of 10 WSU players to enter the transfer portal after the Cougs finished a 12-20 season.Now, he joins a Vandals team that was also impacted by the portal after it won the Big Sky Conference Tournament title and made its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 36 years.

Forward Jackson Rasmussen, the Big Sky Freshman of the Year, transferred to Oregon State, and five other Vandals players are reportedly testing the transfer market.The Vandals have been busy on the recruiting trail, signing highly touted Canadian guard TJ Wal on Wednesday and inking California prep guard Nolan Newman-Gomez earlier Friday.Wal, a 6-7 native of Edmonton, Alberta, starred at Archbishop O'Leary Catholic High before playing last season with Jelly Fam of the Overtime Elite, a notable league in Atlanta for high-level prep talent. He led his Overtime Elite team with 18 points per game.

Wal had games of 61 and 53 points during his high school career."He is a truly gifted player, with a unique combination of skill and size that will make him very hard to guard," Pribble said of Wal in a statement.Newman-Gomez, a 6-8 sharpshooter, led Hesperia High to the CIF Southern Section Division 2 championship, recording 24 points in the semifinals against national power Mater Dei, while guarding Kansas signee Luke Barnett. Newman-Gomez averaged 22.4 points and 8.4 rebounds per game for the season."Nolan is a true diamond in the rough, in the best way," Pribble said. "He didn't play AAU, so his exposure was limited, but he absolutely dominated at the high school level.

He has a great skill set and is extremely versatile at 6-8. He is also the valedictorian of his high school class and has an incredible work ethic."