The Northern California basketball community has confessed: In signing Trevor Priest to a National Letter of Intent Wednesday, the Chico State men’s basketball program may have just landed its biggest prep recruit in decades. Priest, the San Jose Mercury Register Junior of the Year and First-Team All-Santa Clara County selection, is the sixth-ranked player in Northern California according to NorCalPreps.com.

“We are extremely excited about signing Trevor,” said Wildcats Head Coach Greg Clink. “He's one of the best players to come out of the Bay Area in a long time. He has been coached very well at Santa Teresa High School by his father Mitch Priest, and during the summer by coach Bob Brammlet. His skill set and athleticism are going to fit perfectly with how we play here at Chico State. He’s not only a great player, but also a guy with high character and a great work ethic. He is going to be great here!”

Priest, a 6-foot-5 wing, averaged 15 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.4 blocks during Santa Teresa High School’s run to the Central Coast Section title and its first ever CIF North Region final. He was junior of the year in the Mt. Hamilton Division after averaging 13.3 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.9 blocks.

Priest chose Chico State over Saint Mary’s, UC Davis, UC Santa Barbara, and numerous other Division I schools.

Santa Teresa coach Mitch Priest, Trevor's father, told the San Jose Mercury news that Chico State “seemed like a real good fit.”
“The coaches seemed to care a lot about the kids, which was important to us,” Mitch said. “Trevor is pretty excited about going there.”

It’s safe to say that the feeling is mutual.