Texas Longhorns Among Finalists for 7-Footer in 2026 Class

Four-star 2026 center Marcis Ponder narrowed his recruitment down to a top seven on Tuesday, according to On3's Joe Tipton.

The seven-footer, who is a native of Miami, Florida but attends Gillion Basketball Academy in Virginia, is considering Miami, Indiana, Cincinnati, Providence, Illinois, Florida State and the Texas Longhorns in his college decision.

In the 247Sports Composite, Ponder is ranked as the No. 7 center and No. 69 player overall.

Ponder's Cuts

With his updated list of finalists, Ponder cut out Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Kansas, Mississippi State and more from contention, per Tipton's Rivals article.

In Texas, Ponder is looking at a program with a newly-established identity under head coach Sean Miller. The Longhorns are undoubtedly a destination where Ponder would play early on and there has to be a confidence in Miller's ability to develop him based on the 20-year head coach's track record.

As the only Southeastern Conference school remaining in the hunt, the high level and attention surrounding conference play could have a pull on Ponder as well.

Ponder has only taken one visit within his top seven schools, that being Providence.

With Miller's teams often thriving with a fast-pace of play, a rim-running, athletic big stands out as an enticing recruit for Texas's new coaching staff.

Texas's recruiting efforts

Texas does not have any commits for the 2026 just yet, but Miller and company look determined on the recruiting trail.

The Longhorns have five September visits set up with high-ranking recruits -- Austin Goosby, Cameron Williams, Bryson Howard, Taylen Kinney and Deron Rippley Jr. As Ponder and others schedule their trips to the Forty Acres in the fall too, Texas will be in the mix for a very solid amount of 2026 talent.

At SEC Spring Meetings in late May, Miller made clear that Texas was going to keep high school recruiting a priority. While the focus starts with the Lone Star State, the search expands across the nation.

"We want to recruit the high school players moving forward," Miller said. "It's a blend of transfers, retention and incoming high school players (to build a roster). You can develop (recruits), you can retain them. ... You are going to see us active. I also don't think our entire team, or classes of five or six (recruits) are going to be a part of our future. But getting the right two or three, sometimes maybe even four in a class, and then trying to then add players to the spring, that's our philosophy."