Power forward Drew Fielder announces he will play for Providence basketball

Drew Fielder will cross the country to play his college basketball.

Providence’s recruiting pitch proved difficult to refuse. Fielder, an Idaho native prepping in the Los Angeles area this season, committed to the Friars via social media late Monday.

Fielder is a 6-foot-10 power forward and a four-star prospect per 247Sports. He took an official visit with Providence over the weekend and announced his decision soon after returning to Southern California Academy. Fielder is teammates there with Garwey Dual, a four-star shooting guard who pledged to the Friars in June.

Fielder took a visit to nearby USC earlier this month. He also claimed offers from the likes of Arizona State, Boston College, Creighton, Iowa, Maryland, Miami, Nebraska, St. John’s, Syracuse and TCU. Other planned visits with the Eagles, Orange and Colorado will be canceled now that Fielder has made his choice.

Providence made its interest crystal clear over the last week. Ed Cooley took a trip west for an open practice session with the Rams, checking in on Dual and touching base with Fielder before his visit here. The Friars extended an offer to Fielder in July and closed on him barely two months later.

Fielder impressed on the grassroots circuit with West Coast Elite. Some of his best performances this summer came at the Under Armour Association Finals in Chicago. His pair of double-doubles there were both in victories — 13 points and 10 rebounds against Canada Elite, 18 points and 10 rebounds against Massachusetts-based Middlesex Magic.

Providence figures to afford Fielder an early chance to get on the floor. Ed Croswell and La Salle graduate transfer Clifton Moore are both expected to depart after the 2022-23 season. Redshirt freshman Rafael Castro would be the lone real returning paint presence as of now.

The Friars have been targeting size throughout most of this cycle. They welcomed Canadian big man Michael Nwoko for an official visit last weekend and remain involved with California small forward Brady Dunlap, New York big man Youssouf Singare and California big man Jacob McFarland among others. Jared Bynum and Noah Locke are also scheduled to finish their eligibility after this season — Providence has significant roster flexibility both with incoming freshmen and in the transfer portal.

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Fielder’s commitment left the Friars 1-for-2 in terms of Monday announcements. Michigan small forward Curtis Williams Jr. committed to Louisville in the afternoon after including the Cardinals, Friars, Xavier, Alabama and Florida State among his finalists. Williams is a top-70 prospect who had officials with Providence earlier  this month and with Louisville last weekend.

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Cooley now has headlining backcourt and frontcourt commits after missing out on a couple of earlier targets — guard Solomon Ball (Connecticut), guard Gavin Griffiths (Rutgers) and forward Taylor Bol Bowen (Florida State) were chief among them. The Friars figured to have real momentum coming off a first Sweet 16 berth since 1997 and another contract extension that should keep Cooley at the school through at least the end of the 2020s. His efforts in a 27-6 campaign last season led to a first regular-season conference championship and Coach of the Year honors from both the Big East and national Naismith voters.

bkoch@providencejournal.com     

On Twitter: @BillKoch25

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Drew Fielder, a 6-foot-10 four-star prospect commits to PC basketball