Highly coveted forward Kuany Kuany chooses Cal over Washington State, Nevada

PULLMAN – Kuany Kuany won’t be playing for Washington State in 2019-29, but new coach Kyle Smith and the Cougars will see plenty of the 6-foot-10 forward over the next four years.

Kuany, the three-star Australian big man who’d narrowed his list of finalists to WSU, California and Nevada, made his highly anticipated college commitment Thursday, choosing the Golden Bears over the Cougars and Wolf Pack.

WSU, Cal and Nevada – all programs that will be under the guidance of new head coaches this season – seemed to have equal chances of landing the African-born Kuany, who recently finished his career at Napa’s Prolific Prep and ultimately decided to stay in Northern California.

Kuany’s the third member of Mark Fox’s first recruiting class at Cal, and the highest-rated prospect, as the country’s 246th-best recruit, according to 247Sports.com’s database.

The Cougars are slated to play Kuany and the Golden Bears twice during the 2020 Pac-12 season, although the conference hasn’t finalized scheduling details. WSU and Cal split last season – the Cougars coming out on top 82-59 in Pullman before falling to the Golden Bears 76-69 in Berkeley.

Smith signed three players over the last two weeks – Deion James, Isaac Bonton and Noah Williams – and retained junior college transfer Daron Henson, who’d inked with the Cougars before former coach Ernie Kent was fired.

Smith also released wing Chance Moore from the program earlier in the week, according to the player’s Twitter account. Guard Marvin Cannon also entered the NCAA transfer portal.