By Collin Bryant | Sports Writer
Baylor women’s basketball struck verbal gold when the No. 7 ranked player in the 2018 class, NaLyssa Smith, verbally committed to Baylor University Friday evening.
The six foot four inch forward out of Converse was at the top of the Baylor’s recruiting wish list for the 2018 class.
Smith began her live social media announcement by thanking the people that have been a part of her college selection progress.
“First off, I wanna thank God for blessing me through this process and allowing me to play the sport I love. Second, I want to thank my family, friends and teammates for always believing in and telling me never to give up and chase my dream,” Smith said in her live announcement via Periscope. “Lastly I want to thank all of the coaches that recruited me and believed in me, this is a big decision in my life and I’m excited to say I will be committing to one of these schools.”
Smith proceeded to take off t-shirts representing her offers, including Louisville, South Carolina and Ohio State until she was left with a t-shirt that signaled her decision.
Smith stressed how difficult her decision was before revealing Baylor as her final choice.
“It was a close decision, we were in the room thinking about this all night, we were talking about it, and it was like this close,” Smith said.
Amid her family erupting with joy and confetti fell from the ceiling, Smith threw up a Sic’em to signal her new home.
Smith averaged 19 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks last season for a 22-9 team, according to ESPNW.
Smith will be looking to help lead the Lady Bears to a National Championship when she lands on campus in the fall of 2018.
