The Nnaji family legacy at Arizona continues.
Maya Nnaji, a five-star forward in the 2022 recruiting class, verbally committed to the Arizona Wildcats on Monday morning with a six-and-a-half minute video on Instagram. She joins her brother, former UA star and 2020 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year Zeke Nnaji, now a member of the Denver Nuggets, as members of the Nnaji family to play college basketball in Tucson.
The Minnetonka (Minnesota) Hopkins High School star selected the Wildcats over offers from Stanford, South Carolina, Illinois, Michigan, Florida, Louisville, UCLA and Maryland, among others.
Nnaji broke the news to the UA coaching staff over Zoom, revealing a Wildcats shirt after saying, “You guys are going to be seeing a lot of me over the next four years.”
“You just gave us a heart attack,” Arizona coach Adia Barnes replied.
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Nnaji averaged 18.8 points and 7.6 rebounds per game as a junior; last month, she was named a third-team MaxPreps All-American. With Nnaji leading the way, Hopkins — the same program that produced UConn freshman Paige Bueckers, the reigning national player of the year — went 15-1 overall and 12-1 in league play.
“I want to go to a school that can help fulfill my aspirations of becoming a doctor, and play for a coach who looks like me,” Nnaji said in the Instagram video. “I want to blaze my own trail and win championships for a program that knows what it takes to get there. This school has been watching me and supporting me from the sidelines since Day 1.
“(Arizona) saw a spark in me at an early age and now they’re like family to me.”
Nnaji, a 6-foot-4-inch standout, is rated by ESPN as the seventh-best prospect and third-best forward for the 2022 class, making her the highest-ranked recruit to ever commit to Arizona. Nnaji will join Lauren Ware, Cate Reese and Semaj Smith as five-star players to play for the Wildcats under Barnes.
ESPN analyst Dan Olson had high praise for Nnaji.
“Skilled interior performer delivers efficiently in the paint; interior footwork, utilizes either hand to finish in traffic; emerging face up game; a defensive intimidator, alters shots, initiates the fast break, mobile in transition; an impact prospect in the class of (2022),” wrote Olson in his evaluation of Nnaji.
Nnaji joins four-star Florida guard Kailyn Gilbert as prospects committed to the Wildcats for ‘22.
Wildcats to compete in loaded Paradise Jam
Arizona is set to play in the Paradise Jam in the U.S. Virgin Islands for the upcoming season.
The event will be played at the University of the Virgin Islands Sports and Fitness Center on St. Thomas from Nov. 25-27. Arizona, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt, DePaul, Northwestern, Pittsburgh, Rutgers and South Dakota are all scheduled to compete.
The three-day tournament will be divided into two, four-team tournaments, with the two teams with the best records from each side facing off in the championship.
Arizona could potentially have a Sweet 16 rematch with Texas A&M or a 2019 WNIT championship game rematch with Northwestern. The UA could also face Vanderbilt, new forward Koi Love’s former team.
