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An already loaded West Virginia front court received good news back in November that 6-foot-10 forward Isaiah Cottrell had signed his national letter of intent to play for the Mountaineers in the fall of 2020.

The Mountaineer also held offers from a slew of other schools including Arizona, Cal, Illinois, Kansas State, LSU, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas Tech and Washington just to name a few.

The Las Vegas, NV native spent part of his prep career playing for Bishop Gorman prior to coming to the Mountain State to play at Huntington Prep under coach Arkell Bruce where he has averaged 17.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.5 blocks per game so far this season.

Cottrell also averaged 15.2 points, 9.3 rebounds and 4.3 blocks per game during his time at Bishop Gorman.

“Isaiah is one of the best high school big men in the country as well as one of the most versatile,” Huggins said. “At 6-foot-10, he is capable of playing at both ends of the floor, giving us the ability to utilize a big or small unit with equal effectiveness.”

His size is a major attraction to many Mountaineer fans as the 6-foot-10 forward is capable of positing up and going inside as well as shooting from the perimeter if needed. Cottrell also brings a strong defensive presence to West Virginia which goes right along with Bob Huggins style of hard-nosed defenses. 

Cottrell is ranked as the No. 82 overall player in the 2020 recruiting class by ESPN and joins fellow Mountaineers Taj Thweatt and Kedrian Johnson in this year’s recruiting class.

“This class gives us help at every conceivable position as they are all capable of playing multiple positions,” Huggins added. “This class should go down as one of the better recruiting classes in the Big 12 Conference and beyond.”

The Huntington Prep forward has also earned first team all-state honors, All-Southwest League first team accolades as well as leading his former Bishop Gorman high school to the Class 4A state championship in Nevada.