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Cowboy Cunningham Named McDonald’s All-American
(This article was generated by Oklahoma State Athletics Media Relations)
STILLWATER – Oklahoma State signee Cade Cunningham was selected to play in the 2020 McDonald’s All-America Game, making him the eighth Cowboy to earn a spot on the nation’s most prestigious high school basketball All-America squad.
This year's list of McDonald’s All-America nominees included nearly 500 players from 48 states, with only 24 earning a spot on either the East or West roster. The game will take place at 6 p.m. on ESPN on Wednesday, April 1 at the Toyota Center in Houston. Tickets are on sale now at ToyotaCenter.com.
Cunningham joins former Cowboys Glendon Alexander (1996), Byron Eaton (2005), Gerald Green (2005), James Anderson (2007), Le'Bryan Nash (2011), Marcus Smart (2012) and Jawun Evans (2015) as McDonald’s All-Americans.
Those Cowboys combined for 13 All-Big 12 Conference selections and three of them went on to be selected in the first round of the NBA Draft, while Evans was taken with the 39th pick in the second round.
The No. 1 player on the USA TODAY Chosen 25 rankings, Cunningham is currently rated by 247Sports and Rivals as the nation's best guard and the No. 2 overall player. He is currently leading the nation’s No. 1 prep team, Montverde Academy, and is the projected No. 1 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft.
The unanimous five-star talent stands to become the highest ranked player to wear an Oklahoma State uniform since recruit rankings began in 2003. He is the eighth five-star recruit to sign with Oklahoma State since 2003 and the first since two-time All-American Marcus Smart in 2012.
Cunningham was the national MVP of the 2019 Nike EYBL circuit after averaging 23.8 points, 7.0 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 59.2 percent shooting with the Texas Titans.
The Most Outstanding Performer at the 2019 Pangos All-American Camp, Cunningham joined a list of former MOPs that includes James Harden, John Wall, Harrison Barnes, Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis, Ben Simmons, Doug McDermott, DeAndre Ayton, and Trae Young.
The list of past McDonald's All-Americans is even more prestigious, and includes Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson, Jason Kidd, Kevin Durant, Chris Paul, Derrick Rose, Isiah Thomas and Shaquille O'Neal, among numerous other prominent names.
Oklahoma State’s 2020 recruiting class is currently ranked No. 8 by ESPN and No. 10 by Rivals. On top of Cunningham, the class includes fellow Texas Titans teammates Rondel Walker, a national top-100 guard and McDonald’s All-America nominee, and power forward Montreal Pena, who is among the top 20 players in the state of Texas.
