Brandon Ashley is an Arizona Wildcat.
After months of reportedly leading in the recruitment for the best forward on the west coast, Ashley finally pulled the trigger and committed to Sean Miller and UA on Monday afternoon.
Brandon played his first three years of high school in the Bay Area, though the coveted recruit has moved to basketball powerhouse Findlay Prep for his senior year. It will prepare him for the grind of the college season and only get the forward that much better.
Wildcat fans can thank freshmen Josiah Turner and Nick Johnson for luring Ashley to Tucson; the three players were teammates on the Oakland Soliders, a top-level AAU club, and were the hosts whenever Brandon visited the campus.
With the commitment, the Wildcats now have the No. 1 ranked recruiting class in the country for 2012. Grant Jerrett, a very talented big man in his own-right, and Gabe York, who was born to score points and create for his teammates, are the other two commits for the class. 5-star center Kaleb Tarczewski could also pledge to Arizona in the coming weeks.
ESPN's recruiting experts had this blurb on the commitment.
The Wildcats are on top of the basketball recruiting world again, however, these Wildcats are from Arizona and not Kentucky. With the addition of Brandon Ashley, the No. 4 overall player in the 2012 class, coach Sean Miller's Wildcats fly past Indiana, which was entrenched at the top since the beginning.
Arizona now has two recruits in the top 10 overall and three in the top 40.
This is a huge win for Sean Miller's program. Brandon Ashley was his primary target for the class and has been for more than a year now.
Welcome to the Wildcat family, Brandon. It was meant to be.