NC State Secures First High School Commitment of Justin Gainey Era

RALEIGH — Following the messy exit of former coach Will Wade, NC State needed to quickly flip a switch and get its men's basketball program back on track. After hiring program alumnus Justin Gainey, the Wolfpack looks to be making great progress in the offseason, having hired a staff. Now, the focus is roster construction, which started with the transfer portal, but is shifting to high school.

After he visited unofficially over the weekend, the Pack secured a commitment from three-star in-state guard Kington Whitty on Tuesday, according to multiple reports. He became the first high school recruit of the Gainey era, signing on to be a part of a new chapter for NC State men's basketball after the last one ended unceremoniously.

More on Whitty joining the Wolfpack

NEWS: Kingston Whitty, a three-star point guard in the 2026 class and former West Virginia signee, has committed to NC State, a source tells @247Sports.

Story: https://t.co/T5JmZoYp32 pic.twitter.com/q8n1jKAFpp
— Travis Branham (@TravisBranham_) April 29, 2026

Whitty originally committed to West Virginia during his process, but requested a release from his letter of intent earlier in the offseason. After making that big decision, he reopened his recruitment this spring, allowing Gainey to get NC State in the mix. He finished his high school career at Christ School in Arden, N.C., the same program that produced current Wolfpack redshirt freshman Zymicah Wilkins, who decided to stay in Raleigh through the latest coaching change.

With the Greenies, Whitty averaged 15.1 points and 3.2 assists across 25 games in his senior season, according to MaxPreps. That proven production at the high school level definitely appealed to an NC State staff looking for impact, although Whitty might be one to watch in the later stages of his collegiate career rather than his freshman season.

West Virginia commit Kingston Whitty keeping Christ School alive heading to the 4th 🔥 pic.twitter.com/EUf79YVq7D
— SportsCenter NEXT (@SCNext) February 7, 2026

The talented shooter clearly believed in the new-look Wolfpack's developmental plan for him and the rest of the roster, which includes other young guards out of the transfer portal like Hofstra transfer Preston Edmead.

What the commitment means for Gainey

NC State men's basketball coach Justin Gainey speaks during his introductory press conference on April 1, 2026. | Courtesy of NC State Athletics

When he was hired, Gainey quickly made one thing clear: he wants to take over his home state when it comes to high school recruiting. While Whitty isn't the highest-profile recruit in North Carolina, adding him represents an early positive in that original goal, which the Wolfpack's new coach articulated during his introductory press conference in early April.

"Everywhere I've been, I've recruited North Carolina and I feel like I've done it at a high level," Gainey said. "I'm ready to take that to another level. I always thought if I were in-state, man, I could really make some noise. I thought I did a pretty good job pulling some talent, but we're going to recruit this state hard and heavy... We want to be dominant in the state of North Carolina."

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