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Breaking: Cade Cunningham Affirms His Commitment to Oklahoma State

Cade Cunningham, the No. 1 overall prospect in the 2020 class, announced Monday morning that he is sticking with his commitment to Oklahoma State and Mike Boynton

STILLWATER – It’s finally happened. The cornerstone of Mike Boynton’s 2020 class and the No. 1 overall prospect in the 2020 class, five-star guard Cade Cunningham, has announced that he’s sticking with his commitment to Oklahoma State.

"It's more than a word, it's action," said Cunningham. "It's standing by the people you started with. It's showing up even when times are hard. It's believing in the people that always believed in you. It's commitment. Now, more than ever, I'm Loyal and True. I'm committed. Stillwater, let's work."

As soon as the NCAA dropped the hammer on Oklahoma State in regards to the Lamont Evans investigation, which included a postseason ban for the upcoming 2020-21 season, many people believed Cunningham would either transfer to another school or announce his intentions to turn pro a year early.

The program was made aware of the penalties before the official announcement was made, so coach Boynton called all of his returning and incoming players to notify them personally.

Cunningham announcing he’s sticking with his commitment to Oklahoma State might actually be a bigger recruiting win for Boynton and Co. than the original commitment. There’s no doubt that when Cunningham committed to the 'Pokes ahead of the November signing period, it was—and still is—a massive win for the program. Cunningham’s the highest rated signee in the modern recruiting era in program history and will most likely be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NBA draft.

But the fact Boynton and Co. were able to convince one of the best high school players in history to stick with a school that has a potential postseason ban for the one season he’ll be on the team proves Boynton is as good of a recruiter as anyone in the country.

The process to Cunningham’s announcement seemingly began on June 16, with point guard Isaac Likekele reaffirming his commitment to the program. Likekele’s announcement prompted grad transfer guard Ferron Flavors Jr. to reaffirm his commitment and started a slew of announcements.

Kalib Boone was next on the list, followed shortly by guard Chris Harris. Then the rest of the 2020 signing class and returning players announced they were returning: Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe, Keylan Boone, Avery Anderson, Rondel Walker, Donovan Williams and Bryce Williams.