Texas Basketball Lands Commitment From Elite Shooter in 2026 Recruiting Class

Texas Longhorns head coach Sean Miller has secured another elite commitment in the 2026 class.

Texas Longhorns head coach Sean Miller talks with the media during SEC Media Days at Grand Bohemian Hotel. | Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images

AUSTIN -- Even with the 2025-26 regular season just a few days away, Sean Miller and the Texas Longhorns men's basketball team continue to add talent for the future.

2026 four-star shooting guard Joe Sterling announced on social media Thursday that he has committed to Texas. A product of Harvard Westlake in Studio City, CA., Sterling choose the Longhorns over offers from USC, Washington, Colorado State, New Mexico and more.

He joins four-star guard Bo Ogden as the second commitment for the Longhorns in the 2026 class.

What Joe Sterling Said About Texas

Texas Longhorns head coach Sean Miller talks with the media during SEC Media Days at Grand Bohemian Hotel. | Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images

Sterling also had offers from Grand Canyon, San Francisco, St. Bonaventure, USF, UC San Diego, Northern Iowa and UC Santa Barbara among others.

However, it's clear Texas stands out. Sterling told Brandon Jenkins of 247Sports that the coaching staff in Austin "loves" his approach.

"They love who I've been in terms of being an underdog and working for everything that I have," Sterling told Jenkins.

Sterling visited the Forty Acres on Oct. 23 after official visits with Northern Iowa, New Mexico and UC Santa Barbara. He told Horns247 that it was an "amazing place" to visit.

"It was great," Sterling told Horns247. "I mean, it's obviously such an amazing place, and has such a great history and obviously new coaching staff there with and all the rest of the staff. And it was great to get in person and be with them and talk and just kind of see how they view me as a player

According to 247Sports Director of Scouting Adam Finkelstein, Sterling is a "big-time shooter."

"Sterling is a big-time shooter off the basketball who made 44% of his threes, on over 8 attempts per game, during the Pro16 season. He has extreme gravity as a floor spacer but is also a tough shot-maker off the bounce. He’s the type of threat who coaches can run off various types of screening action. Simultaneously, he’s a good ball-handler, who is very adept at probing the lane and holding his dribble until he gets just enough separation for his pull-up."

Sterling won't be arriving to campus until next season but it's clear the future is bright in the 2026 class for Texas.

The Longhorns will open up the 2025-26 season against Duke on Tuesday in Charlotte.