ThunderRidge’s Austin Mueller (14). (Kai Casey/CHSAANow.com)
Austin Mueller, a 6-foot-6 small forward at ThunderRidge, committed to Wyoming on Wednesday night.
He announced his decision on Twitter:
Very happy and proud to say that I have committed to the University of Wyoming! #GoPokes 🏀🏀🏀 pic.twitter.com/AK9nxf8F8h
— Austin Mueller (@AustinMueller14) June 18, 2015
Mueller, who will be a senior in the fall, helped the Grizzlies reach the Class 5A championship game last season, where they lost to Overland.
He told WyoSports.net that Wyoming “was the perfect mix of academics and athletics.”
“I knew what I was looking for in schools,” Mueller said, according to the site, “and Wyoming was the perfect fit for me.”
As a junior, he averaged 6.9 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. During the tournament, Mueller averaged 7.2 points and 5.2 rebounds.
Mueller will be the latest in a long line of Colorado products to join the Cowboys.
Last season, Wyoming featured four graduates of Colorado high schools: Boulder’s Riley Grabau, Chaparral’s Josh Adams, Widefield’s Alan Herndon and Ponderosa’s Jonathan Barnes.
All but Grabau (a senior) will return next season, and they’ll add Overland’s Austin Conway, a 2015 graduate who signed in November.
They’ll also add Hayden Dalton, a 2014 graduate of Chaparral who signed with the Cowboys last week from Central Wyoming College.
By the time Mueller arrives on campus, Herndon, Barnes, Conway and Dalton will all have eligibility remaining.
Mueller is part of a solid Class of 2016 boys basketball prospects, which includes Overland’s De’Ron Davis, a top national prospect, Colorado Academy’s Justin Bassey, a Harvard commit, as well as a host of others who will garner a lot of interest.
On Wednesday, Pueblo Central guard Mike Ranson, another of the studs in the 2016 class, committed to Northern Colorado.
Austin Mueller, left. (Kevin Keyser/KeyserImages.com)