Princeton High School senior Kameron “Kam” Mercer officially signed with the Cincinnati Bearcats on Wednesday, Nov. 11, nearly six months after his commitment was shown on ESPN’s SportsCenter, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported.
Mercer returned to the same room at Princeton for the signing ceremony, the Enquirer reported. He had been at UC games regularly and was one of new head coach Jerrod Calhoun’s first priorities when Calhoun arrived in Cincinnati in late March.
Mercer helped Princeton win the Ohio Division I state title on March 22, and Calhoun was introduced as UC’s head coach the following day, according to the Enquirer. Mercer had originally been offered by former coach Wes Miller’s staff when he was in eighth grade.
“I believe so much in Calhoun and what he’s done,” Mercer said, in comments reported by the Cincinnati Enquirer. “I’m a guy that’s going to come in on Day One and be a leader. Somebody that wants to win. I want to become a winner. I want to become an NCAA champion.” Mercer became emotional during the ceremony while talking about his parents, Craig and Nicole Mercer, the Enquirer reported.
Mercer led the Vikings to their state crown as a sophomore, averaging 14.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.4 steals per game, according to the Enquirer. As a freshman playing against older talent at Huntington Expression Prep in West Virginia, he averaged 11 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists, and he moved up a year scholastically to join the Bearcats for the 2027-28 season.
Princeton coach Bryan Wyant, who has attended numerous UC practices and borrowed some of the Bearcats’ strategies for his Vikings, was bullish on his star’s future in comments reported by the Enquirer: “I think he has a chance to be one of the most dominant players that we’ve seen in the last 20 years.”
Mercer joins a UC class that also includes future teammate Josh Tyson, who committed in September after playing against Mercer at Lakota West and is now at La Lumiere in Indiana, according to the Enquirer.
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