Coach Eric Musselman and the Arkansas men's basketball team secured their first commitment for the 2023 recruiting class Saturday with guard Layden Blocker, who played last season at Sunrise Christian Academy in the Wichita suburb of Bel Aire, Kan.
Blocker, a Little Rock native, held an announcement ceremony at Little Rock Christian, where he played his first two seasons of high school basketball before transferring to Sunrise.
Blocker, 6-2, 172 pounds, is rated by ESPN as the No. 7 point guard and No. 28 player nationally for the 2023 class. He is the first commitment for Arkansas following its 2022 recruiting class that was rated No. 3 in the nation by ESPN.
"The class that just went in, it was very impressive," Blocker said. "[With] three McDonald's All-Americans, it tells you that Coach Musselman is doing a really good job over there at Arkansas."
Musselman has led the Razorbacks back-to-back Elite Eight appearances in the NCAA Tournament, and that success has continued to attract recruits like those 2022 class.
But it was a detailed plan of things Blocker excelled at and those that Musselman and his staff said they felt they could help him improve on that stuck out the most.
"When I saw that in-depth chart, I was like, 'Yeah, this is the place,' " Blocker said.
Last season, Blocker helped lead Sunrise to a 26-1 record against a schedule that included victories over many of the nation's top prep schools, including IMG (Fla.) Academy, Oak Hill (Va.) Academy and Link (Mo.) Academy.
Joining Blocker on the Sunrise roster last season were Gradey Dick, who signed with Kansas; Mark Mitchell, who has committed to Duke; Dillon Hunter, who signed with Clemson; and Cam Corhen, who signed with Florida State.
Going into his senior year of high school, Blocker said he wanted to settle on his commitment now, rather than fielding calls throughout his final season.
"I just wanted to go into my senior year with a fresh mind, just to be able to focus on basketball instead of where am I [going to] commit," Blocker said. "It brings a load off my shoulders."
Blocker said has his sights set on the NBA after his time in Fayetteville. So while he has goals for his time at Arkansas, he said Musselman can also help him become the next Razorback to make it to the NBA, following in the footsteps of Moses Moody and Jaylin Williams -- former Razorbacks who were taken in the past two NBA Drafts.
"When I get to college, I want to win a national championship, and that's why I chose Arkansas," Blocker said of his aspirations for his college career. "Coach Musselman, you know, he's a very high-level coach, an NBA-style coach, and I feel like going there I can get to where I want to be -- which is the NBA and winning a national championship."