SHARONVILLE, Ohio — Five-star boys basketball player Kam Mercer is now enrolled at Princeton High School and is expected to be able to play for the Vikings in Tuesday night’s game at Lakota East.
Mercer, a 6-foot-5 guard, is ranked No. 5 nationally in the 2028 class by ESPN. He is ranked a five-star player by the 247 Sports Composite and the nation's No. 1 shooting guard in his class.
WCPO 9 Sports previously reported that Mercer withdrew from Atlanta-based Overtime Elite and planned to enroll at Princeton.
Craig Mercer, Kam’s father, said last week the passage of name, image and likeness (NIL) by the Ohio High School Athletic Association membership in November proved to be a significant factor in the family decision. The OHSAA became the 45th state association to approve NIL in high school sports.
"I’m looking forward to being back in Cincinnati with my family," Kam told WCPO 9 Sports in a text message last week.
Kam has several scholarship offers, including Cincinnati, Xavier, Ohio State, Central Florida, Louisville, Maryland, Villanova, North Carolina State, Missouri and Florida State.
Ohio State is expected to be in attendance at Tuesday’s Greater Miami Conference game with interest in Kam, according to Craig.
The basketball spotlight has followed Kam for quite some time. He helped USA Basketball’s U16 National Team win a gold medal at the FIBA U16 Men’s AmeriCup in Juárez, Mexico in June. The five-star player averaged 5.8 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.2 steals in six games off the bench. The City of Springdale proclaimed July 2 "Kameron Mercer Day."
Kam is no stranger to the Greater Cincinnati high school basketball scene.
He starred at Winton Woods Middle School. After that, he averaged 11 points, six rebounds and five assists during the 2024-25 season for Huntington (W. Va.) Expression Prep before he committed to Overtime Elite in May.
Kam, who has 65,000 Instagram followers, has multiple NIL deals, including a multimillion-dollar deal with Panini America. In July, Kam became the first rising sophomore basketball player in the 2028 class to join Panini through an NIL agreement.
Panini said Kam may be included in a basketball product in the first quarter of 2026.
Princeton (3-1, 2-1 GMC) plays its fourth consecutive GMC game Tuesday night when it travels to Lakota East (3-1, 2-1).
