The WKU men’s basketball program received its first 2021 commitment on Tuesday, as consensus four-star guard Zion Harmon pledged to play on the Hill for head coach Rick Stansbury.

Harmon picked the Hilltoppers over offers from Kansas, Maryland, Murray State, Seton Hall and several other schools he’d trimmed off his potential destination list in the last few months.

{{tncms-inline account=”Zion Harmon” html=”<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">100% Committed 🥳💯 <a href="https://t.co/FeA7rWJRnF">pic.twitter.com/FeA7rWJRnF</a></p>— Zion Harmon (@zion_harmon) <a href="https://twitter.com/zion_harmon/status/1242514315455979520?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 24, 2020</a></blockquote>” id=”https://twitter.com/zion_harmon/status/1242514315455979520″ type=”twitter”}}

Evan Daniels, the director of recruiting for 247Sports, spoke with Harmon on Feb. 12, and the four-star prospect told Daniels what he liked about WKU.

“Coach [Rick] Stansbury, I have a great relationship with him and have had a great relationship with him for a long time,” Harmon told Daniels. “Western Kentucky has a tradition, there is history behind it. Mainly with Western Kentucky, I already know the area of Bowling Green but just having such a strong relationship with Coach Stansbury, I can feel his belief in me, knowing that he just believes in winning. He’s a legendary basketball coach and I had a great time on my visit.”

247Sports rates Harmon as the No. 56 player nationally, No. 8 point guard and the No. 1 player in Kentucky for the Class of 2021. The 247Sports Composite has Harmon ranked as the No. 40 player nationally, No. 6 point guard and the No. 1 player in Kentucky for the Class of 2021.

247Sports’ evaluation states: “Short in stature but plays with great strength. Strong with the basketball. A consummate playmaker off the dribble. Dangerous as scorer in midrange. Erratic long range shooter. Impressive assist to turnover ratio. Holds his own on the defensive boards. Can pressure the ball on defense.”

ESPN rates Harmon as the No. 4 player at his position, the No. 6 player in his region and the No. 1 player in Kentucky. Harmon is also No. 20 on the 2021 ESPN 60 list.

Rivals doesn’t regard Harmon as highly as the other major recruiting services, ranking him No. 52 nationally and No. 10 at his position. He has no “Rivals” or state ranking.

The 5-foot-10-inch, 160-pounder averaged 25.4 points per game at Marshall County High School this season, leading the Marshals to 23 wins and a runner-up finish in the Kentucky High School Athletic Association First Region while shooting 44.3% from the floor.

The Bethesda, Maryland, native has played at four high schools in five years, but Harmon more than settled in with the Marshals this season. He broke or tied several Marshall County basketball records, including most points in a game with 50, most field goals in a game with 19, most made 3-pointers in a season with 95 and a tie for the most made 3-pointers in a single game with 10.

Harmon also helped Bowling Green High School win its first-ever state championship as an eighth-grader in 2017. He scored 18 points to help the Purples claim a 67-56 triumph in the final game.

Prior to Tuesday, WKU had no recruits committed in the Class of 2021 and just one — in-state signee Dayvion McKnight — signed in the Class of 2020. WKU also has a verbal commitment from 2020 prospect Kylen Milton, who announced his pledge to play for Stansbury on Feb. 22.

Harmon has been rumored as a possible candidate to reclassify and come play for WKU immediately, as current freshman guard Jordan Rawls did a year ago. But Harmon told Jake Weingarten of Stock Risers on Feb. 12 that there’s a “low probability” he will reclassify to 2020.

Sports Editor Drake Kizer can be reached at [email protected]. Follow Drake on Twitter at @drakekizer_.