CINCINNATI — Five-star boys basketball player Kam Mercer has withdrawn from Overtime Elite and plans to enroll at Princeton High School, his father Craig Mercer told WCPO 9 Sports Thursday night.
Kam, a 6-foot-5 guard, is ranked No. 5 nationally in the 2028 class by ESPN. Kam is ranked a five-star player by the 247 Sports Composite and the nation's No. 1 shooting guard in his class.
Kam has played for Atlanta-based Overtime Elite this season. He plans to be in classes at Princeton on Monday, according to Craig. Kam is expected to be able to play Dec. 16 when the Vikings play at Lakota East, according to Craig.
“I’m looking forward to being back in Cincinnati with my family,” Kam told WCPO 9 Sports in a text message.
Kam said Princeton boys basketball head coach Bryan Wyant is like family – with support going back to the star guard’s sixth grade year.
“That’s probably the biggest thing – family always first, everything else is after. And I’m very excited to be enrolling at Princeton," Kam said.
Craig said 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.
An emergency referendum vote by the OHSAA high school membership occurred after the family of Huber Heights Wayne 2027 wide receiver Jamier Brown (Ohio State verbal commit) filed a lawsuit in mid-October against the OHSAA regarding NIL. (In late November, an Ohio lawmaker proposed a bill to revoke NIL in Ohio high school sports).
Kam, who always makes it known that he’s from Greater Cincinnati, hosted a community backpack drive at Winton Woods High School in early August. Winton Woods 2027 defensive end Jaylen Mercer is Kam's older brother.
“I’m looking to make some noise coming back,” Kam said. “Ohio has had some really good [basketball] talent and I feel without NIL it’s gone away. So I’m glad to be the first one to come back after the change. NIL was everything with my decision because I couldn’t have gone back without it. So I’m thanking (Huber Heights Wayne wide receiver) Jamier Brown for fighting the OHSAA for it because without him I wouldn’t be able to come home.”
Kam, who had 14 points, five assists and five rebounds in Overtime Elite’s victory earlier this week in front of coaches from Duke and Kansas, is looking forward to the opportunity to return to the Greater Cincinnati high school scene.
Kam has several scholarship offers, including Cincinnati, Xavier, Ohio State, Central Florida, Louisville, Maryland, Villanova, North Carolina State, Missouri and Florida State.
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 made a proclamation of “Kameron Mercer Day” on July 2.
Kam is very familiar to the Greater Cincinnati high school basketball scene. He starred at Winton Woods Middle School. He averaged 11 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists during the 2024-25 season for Huntington (W. Va.) Expression Prep before he committed to Overtime Elite this past May.
Kam, who has 65,000 Instagram followers, has NIL deals including a multimillion-dollar deal with Panini America. This past July, Kam became the first rising sophomore basketball player in the 2028 class to join Panini through an NIL agreement. He may be included in a basketball product in the first quarter of 2026, according to the company.
Kam's return to Greater Cincinnati is a significant impact within Division I boys basketball and especially the Greater Miami Conference.
Princeton (2-1, 1-1 Greater Miami Conference) plays at Sycamore (2-1, 1-1 GMC) Friday night. The Vikings play at Lakota East (2-1, 1-1) Dec. 16.
