From Inside the Red Raiders
Jaylon Tyson is officially a Red Raider after signing his National Letter of Intent to attend and play basketball at Texas Tech. The 6-foot-6 wing put pen to paper Wednesday, the first day of the early signing period, during a ceremony at his school, Plano (TX) John Paul II.
Tyson is one of the highest-rated recruits to ever sign with the Red Raiders as the four-star prospect holds a rating of 98, is ranked as the No. 51 overall player in the nation, the No. 9 small forward in the country and No. 4 overall recruit in Texas for the 2021 class according to the 247Sports Composite, an average of the major recruiting rankings services. He signed with Texas Tech over reported offers from Creighton, Houston, Oklahoma, Oral Roberts, Richmond, SMU, TCU, Texas A&M and Xavier.
“Jaylon’s goal is going to be to come in and day one and help build up Texas Tech like he did John Paul in high school,” Tyson’s father, John Tyson, told 247Sports. “It might be score 30 points, it might be grab 10 rebounds, it might be defend the best player, it can be anything. He just wants to win and help the program. That is what he sees as the most important thing, and that is what he will bring to Texas Tech.”
Tyson led John Paul to the TAPPS Class 6A state title last season as a junior after averaging 23.3 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists a game. He committed to the Red Raiders back in May and is currently the only pledge of Texas Tech’s 2021 recruiting class.
His recruitment was led by assistant coach Ulric Maligi, who is known as a great recruiter. Tyson visited Texas Tech several times in the past including for Texas Tech’s home games against Kentucky and Kansas last season. Those visits made a big impact on his decision.
“Oh for sure they (Texas Tech) exceeded my expectations,” Tyson told Inside the Red Raiders after the Kentucky game. “Tech is live.”
The Red Raiders checked in at No. 14 on the Associated Press preseason college basketball poll released earlier this week and will tip off the new season at home against Northwestern State on Wednesday, Nov. 25.
