Morgantown, West Virginia – When West Virginia offered a scholarship to Austin Ball, he described it as a “dream come true.”
Ball, a Man, West Virginia native, grew up a fan of the Mountaineers and will now have the opportunity to make his dreams of playing for his home state in the WVU Coliseum a reality.
Last season, Ball led the Man High School Hillbillies to the Single A West Virginia state championship, averaging 20.3 points, 7.9 rebounds before transferring to the Miller School in Charlottesville, Virginia in order to play against better competition.
Ball, a 6’7 small forward, is a four star recruit according to both 247 Sports and Rivals, and is currently ranked the 80th overall prospect by 247 and 89th overall by Rivals nationally.
Although Ball is a junior, he could actually decide to leave high school and become a college freshman next season. Ball is a long, athletic, skilled player who can score from the perimeter as well as get to the basket. He’s one of the best shooters in the state of Virginia this season and is an explosive, powerful dunker.
Although he will get considerable attention from several schools, West Virginia is his home state and he could potentially get a lot of playing time as a freshman next season. Although the Mountaineers have no remaining scholarships, Bob Huggins has shown that he will make room for the right player, and Austin Ball is the type of player who will be willing to stay in his system for four full seasons.
Ball recently told National Basketball Recruiting Analyst Jamie Shaw the following about his recruitment: “I have seen a lot of West Virginia, being from there. They are a real defensive and pressing type of system. I have heard a lot from them, so they are recruiting me pretty hard.”
In addition to West Virginia, Ball has earned offers from Virginia Tech, Marshall, Drexel, Fairfield, Ohio & Stetson, and has considerable interest from Oklahoma State, Notre Dame, Georgia Tech, Xavier and Illinois State.
After losing five seniors as well as starters Jalen Bridges, Isaiah Cottrell and Sean McNeil, Bob Huggins had a virtually a clean slate to rebuild the Mountaineers. He’s rebuilt through the transfer portal and JUCO ranks, but now it’s time to add a talented, skilled in-state player like Austin Ball.
