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PROVO — The first day of the early signing period came and went Wednesday with BYU officially adding two players and expected to sign another early Thursday morning.
Timpview post Gavin Baxter and Idaho guard Connor Harding signed a national letter of intent to join the Cougars next season.
Baxter, a 6-foot-9 forward, averaged 15.5 points as a junior while leading the Thunderbirds to a 15-9 record and a spot in the Class 4A state quarterfinals. A four-star recruit by ESPN, Scout and Rivals, Baxter signed with BYU over Arizona State, California, Oregon, Oregon State, UCLA and Utah State.
Harding, a 6-6 guard at Highland High in Pocatello, Idaho, averaged 16.6 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.7 assists as a junior, when he was named to the All-USA Idaho first team. The four-star recruit by ESPN was also recruited by Arizona State, California, Harvard, Utah, Utah State and others.
Both players were coached by Tim Davis on the Utah Prospects AAU team.
Bingham High center Yoeli Childs submitted his national letter of intent Thursday morning following a signing ceremony in South Jordan. The 6-8 Miners center averaged 16.4 points, 10.7 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game while leading Bingham to a 20-4 record and the 5A quarterfinals as a junior.
Other in-state schools added a few early signings, as well.
New Utah State coach Tim Duryea added three early signees to his program Wednesday night. The first-year head coach added guard Koby McEwen from Wasatch Academy along with forward Klay Stall from Basha High School in Arizona, and wing Daron Henson from Cathedral High School in California.
The 6-3, 180-pound McEwen was rated as the 19th-best point guard in the nation by ESPN's top 100, as well as the second-best player in the state of Utah. He averaged 19.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists as a junior, logging 30 minutes per game en route to Class 2A all-state honors.
McEwen selected the Aggies over interest from Baylor, Ole Miss, Eastern Kentucky, New Mexico State and others.
"Koby is a big, strong, athletic point guard," Duryea said in a statement. "He is a tenacious competitor, a very solid shooter and his work ethic for improving is as good as any player that we have ever recruited.
"He has an insatiable appetite for basketball, for being in the gym and working out. He has the ability to be a tremendous defender and will be one of the better rebounding point guards that we have ever had here."
Weber State coach Randy Rahe received a letter of intent from American Fork senior Spencer Johnson to join the Wildcats.
"We've had our eye on Spencer for a long time, and we couldn't be more excited to have him join our program," Rahe said in a statement. "He epitomizes what we want in our program and is a very high character, tough and competitive player. He is a winner and has all the attributes that we look for to fit our culture.
"He can play three different spots, is very versatile and will be a perfect fit for our program. He has been very well-coached and knows how to play the game and has a very bright future for us after his mission."
The 6-4 Johnson, who plans to serve a two-year mission of the LDS Church immediately following high school, averaged 18.2 points and seven rebounds per game as a junior for the Cavemen.
Fellow Caveman Brendan Bailey also signed a letter of intent to play at Marquette. Bailey will join the Golden Eagles following a two-year church mission.
