Guard Dedan Thomas Jr. will join the University of Houston Men’s Basketball program for the 2026-27 season after signing a scholarship agreement, Head Coach Kelvin Sampson announced on April 22.
Thomas is set to compete as a senior with the Cougars and will have one season of eligibility remaining. Over his three collegiate seasons, he has accumulated more than 1,100 points and distributed over 400 assists while committing only 150 turnovers.
“Our point guard position has been the strength of our program. We have never not had a great point guard. Now, we slide to Dedan Thomas Jr., and we will just keep going,” Sampson said. “DJ is a point guard’s point guard. He can manage the game, and he understands the game at a freakishly high level. He is very smart and can get in the paint. He plays off his imagination and is very savvy. All of our guards are going to benefit from having DJ because he is going to make them all better.”
Thomas comes to Houston after playing as a junior at Louisiana State University during the previous season, where he appeared in 16 games before missing time due to a foot injury but averaged strong numbers in both points and assists per game during that stretch. Prior to LSU, Thomas played two seasons at UNLV where his father was an All-American in the early nineties.
During his time at UNLV, Thomas earned multiple honors including being named to conference teams as both freshman and sophomore while setting records for assists by a freshman in his league.
The addition of Thomas brings experience and proven performance at both collegiate and high school levels as Houston prepares for its upcoming basketball campaign.
