CINCINNATI — Princeton High School five-star guard Kam Mercer has given a verbal commitment to play basketball at the University of Cincinnati. He also plans to reclassify from the 2028 to the 2027 class.
Mercer made the announcement on ESPN during the 2 o'clock hour Thursday afternoon. He also considered Ohio State, Louisville, Maryland and Xavier among his finalists.
He told us he visited UC on May 5 and instantly made a connection with new Bearcats coach Jerrod Calhoun and the entire staff.
"It means everything, honestly," Mercer told WCPO 9 Sports. "I don't have to go anywhere. I'm 25 minutes away. My family can come watch me play. And I've just been a Cincinnati kid my whole life."
Mercer, who lives in Springdale, is the first high school basketball player to give a verbal commitment to UC under the leadership of Calhoun.
"They were very quick to get (Mercer) on campus," Princeton boys basketball coach Bryan Wyant said. "They put the full-court press on."
He is UC's highest-rated men's basketball recruit since Lance Stephenson committed to the Bearcats in 2009. He's also the first five-star player to verbally commit to the Bearcats since Shon Abaev in November 2024. Abaev, who is now at Florida State, was ranked a consensus top-30 prospect.
Mercer, a 6-foot-5 guard, helped to lead Princeton to its first boys basketball state championship this past March. The Vikings defeated Hilliard Bradley 59-28 March 22 in the Division I state final at University of Dayton Arena.
He averaged 14.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.4 steals for Princeton (25-3) during its state championship season.
Mercer had scholarship offers that included UC, Florida State, Memphis, Louisville, Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina State, Ohio State, Central Florida, Georgia State, Villanova and Xavier, according to 247 Sports and WCPO 9 Sports.
He and his family visited UC May 5 and were very impressed with the Bearcats’ program led by Calhoun. Mercer’s visit occurred during the afternoon hours of May 5; Calhoun and Mercer watched film and discussed the game at length.
"He's super specific with his film breakdown," Mercer said of Calhoun. "He kind of quizzed me and told me some things. And he also told me what I need to get better at so I like those types of things. He's super straight forward. He's real with me."
Mercer, who was offered a scholarship during his eighth-grade year by then UC coach Wes Miller, expressed his admiration for UC on social media, including changing his X profile photo to a snapshot wearing Bearcats gear and dribbling a basketball.
"I think they're getting an unbelievable basketball talent," Wyant said. "I think they're getting a winner. A guy that was able to elevate a program that's never won a state championship to that level. We anticipate that he's going to step on campus day one and he's going to elevate (UC)."
Wyant said Mercer is working on 3-point shooting volume and efficiency during open gyms. There is also an analysis of his 3-point shooting during Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) games.
"I think that's the evolution of his game that makes him a multi-year pro," Wyant said.
Mercer is also working on his strength in the weight room in order to prepare for the Big 12 Conference.
Mercer's announcement Thursday afternoon on ESPN was attended by family, coaches, school administration, media and his agents, Trey Dees and Corey Marcum of EZ Sports Group.
"There is really no words that can describe the feeling," Dees said of Thursday's announcement.
"We always knew he would be good but this is above what any of us thought. For him to stay home, play at the University of Cincinnati - 5-star kid - just a great feeling."
Family means everything to Mercer and that is a theme he will carry with him to UC.
"Unbelievable kid, unbelievable family," Dees said. "He fits the model of what you think of a Bearcat. He's that on and off the floor. He's going to give his all everyday and his film is going to be great."
The Bearcats offered a scholarship to Mercer on May 5, the second time UC offered a scholarship offer to the Princeton star and the first time with Calhoun as the head coach. Mercer built a strong connection with UC.
"I feel like UC is the right pick for me," Mercer said. "Very, very excited."
Mercer, ranked the nation's No. 7 player nationally in the 2028 class by ESPN, completed his first season this past winter competing for Princeton High School. He enrolled at Princeton in December after he had been at Atlanta-based Overtime Elite prior to that.
Named a Jersey Mike’s Naismith Boys' High School All-America Underclassman Honorable Mention selection, he is very familiar to Greater Cincinnati high school basketball fans. He starred at Winton Woods Middle School. 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 2025.
The basketball star has multiple name, image and likeness deals such as Bose, 24 Apparel, Pahhni and Panini America. He has 66,000 Instagram followers.
Mercer helped USA Basketball’s U16 National Team win a gold medal at the FIBA U16 Men’s AmeriCup in Juárez, Mexico in June 2025. Mercer averaged 5.8 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.2 steals in six games off the bench.
He was invited to the USA Basketball Junior National Team Minicamp earlier this month in Indianapolis. The USA Basketball U17 Men’s Basketball trials roster is expected to be announced the first week of June.
