4-Star Guard Collin Chandler Commits to BYU, Explains Decision

BYU and Mark Pope landed a massive recruiting win as 2022 4-Star guard Collin Chandler announced his commitment and signing to BYU. Collin is rated a top-30 recruit by both ESPN and 247 sports and is the highest-rated recruit BYU has ever signed, according to 247 composite rankings. The rankings have been around for about 20 years. Collin chose BYU over other finalists Utah, Stanford, Oregon, Gonzaga and Arizona.

I asked Collin the main reasons why he chose BYU.

“I felt like I had the most to learn from the coaching staff and felt like my talents would be utilized the best, and I like their system. I felt like I would like the school life the best and be most prepared for life after basketball.”

The Farmington High School product is the top prospect in the state of Utah and is on his way to being named a McDonald’s All-American. He really burst onto the recruiting scene this summer and was one of the stars of the summer season. He is a 6-foot-4 guard that can play either the one or the two. Collin is an elite scorer that can score from three, mid-range or above the rim with his hops. He’s had multiple dunks where he posterizes a guy. People in the Utah high school and AAU scene have told me that Collin absolutely loves the game of basketball and has an incredibly high work ethic.

Collin absolutely has NBA talent and is a program-changing player for BYU. He’s the type of player BYU can build around in the Big 12 and has the ability to be an all-time great player for BYU.

For BYU, this is a massive recruiting win for Mark Pope and his staff. I’ve wrote about Collin’s recruitment for several months now, and Utah and Stanford were considered the favorites for awhile. Stanford’s academics intrigued Collin, and he and his family grew up Utah fans. Utah was considered the favorite for much of his recruitment.

Collin wasn’t planning to take one of his five official visits to BYU, but BYU coaches convinced him to ditch his plans to visit Arizona and visit Provo instead the weekend of October 23. This was after he took an unofficial visit to BYU over the summer, had an in-home visit in mid-September with BYU coaches, and visited the BYU-ASU football game in September, where he was on the field pre-game with his girlfriend and Mark Pope.

The October 23 visit for Collin was crucial — BYU blew him away and made an outstanding pitch. Collin and his family attended the BYU Women’s volleyball game and Midnight madness, and coaches pitched development on and off the court, recent success/momentum of the basketball program and BYU athletics overall, Big 12, and BYU’s fan base. He and his family also met BYU’s players and spent time with them.

Collin visited Utah the next weekend for his final visit and they by all accounts did a great job. BYU talked with Collin and his family that week after, and Collin weighed all the pros and cons and decided BYU was the best place for him. Collin narrowed down his decision to BYU and Utah late in the process, but he ultimately believed BYU’s program, staff, and fan base was the best fit for him.

The Big 12 wasn’t the top reason why Collin chose BYU, but I don’t think Collin would have signed with BYU without the Big 12. Collin wants to play against the best competition and the Big 12 will provide that for him.

BYU fans will have to wait a couple years to see Collin in action, as he’s expected to serve a LDS mission right out of high school and return home for the 2024-2025 season, BYU’s second year in the Big 12.

You can watch highlights from Collin below.