The No. 8-ranked player in the class of 2027 will make a trip to Koch Arena this weekend.
Reese Alston, a five-star guard out of Houston Second Baptist, is the highest-rated prospect to officially visit Wichita State, according to 247Sports — an online database that has compiled visits, offers, commitments and prospect rankings since 1999. Alston announced his visit Monday night via X, formerly known as Twitter.
The Shockers join some elite company in Alston’s recruiting process, as he has compiled offers from 30 schools, including Power Conference programs like Kansas, Purdue, Louisville, Kentucky and Texas Tech. 247Sports reported that he’s taken official visits already with Louisville (Dec. 13) and Purdue (Jan. 24).
A report by The Wichita Eagle stated that Alston took an unofficial visit with Wichita State last October.
The timing of Alston’s official visit perhaps can’t be better, however. The Shockers are riding a five-game win streak after Sunday’s win at Texas-San Antonio and will host their senior day Saturday afternoon against Florida Atlantic.
Wichita State is also well within reach of a triple-bye at the American Conference Championship from March 11-15, too. A win Saturday means only two wins in Birmingham, Ala., are necessary to earn an NCAA Tournament berth for the first time in five seasons.
And with attendance numbers on a steady incline throughout the season, Alston could surely see what a rocking Roundhouse looks like on gameday.
But with so many high-profile schools chasing Alston’s signature, it seems unlikely that he would want to visit a Mid-Major program like Wichita State. Assistant coach PJ Couisnard’s connection to the Houston area may help.
Before joining the Shockers’ coaching staff last offseason, Couisnard coached the varsity team at Legacy School of Sport Sciences — also in the Houston area — where the Titans and Second Baptist have become regular fixtures over the past three seasons.
Alston also plays summer ball for Couisnard’s AAU team, Cooz Elite, where he won back-to-back Pro16 circuit titles. Most recently, he finished the 16u circuit by averaging 14.9 points and 3.5 assists per game.
This season at Second Baptist, Alston averaged 22.8 points, 3.9 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 2.8 steals a game to lead the Eagles to a Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools Class 5A state championship.
That kind of dominance traces back to his family lineage.
Alston is the son of former professional basketball player Rafer Alston, who spent 15 seasons in the NBA. Rafer was also a standout streetball player before joining the Milwaukee Bucks in 1999, known affectionately as “Skip 2 My Lou.” Reese has since adopted the nickname “Lil Skip.”
Whether Reese will sign with Wichita State is still up in the air. But Saturday could provide the Shockers a leg-up in winning the race for the five-star prospect.
