Zach Clemence, the 6-foot-10, 218-pound forward from Sunrise Christian Academy in Bel Aire, Kan., is officially a member of KU’s 2021 recruiting class.
During a ceremony at Sunrise Christian Academy on Saturday morning, Clemence, surrounded by his mom (Dusti), dad (Elliott), and brothers (Wyatt and Dillon), signed a National Letter-of-Intent with Kansas.
Wearing a Kansas hat and shirt, Clemence, who signed with Kansas over interest from Arkansas, Baylor, Grand Canyon, Nebraska, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas Tech, and Vanderbilt, became the second player from the class to sign with Bill Self and the Jayhawks.
“He is the most humble, serving, kind, generous person you’ll find, besides being an extremely talented individual,” said Sunrise Christian Academy head coach Luke Barnwell. “He’s our first Jayhawk, the first guy I’ll be able to drive two hours down the road to watch play and be able to support you.”
After taking numerous unofficial visits to Kansas last season, Clemence, the No. 35 ranked player in the 2021 class, decided to put an end to his recruitment by committing to Kansas on May 11, 2020.
With the coronavirus (COVID-19) basically shutting everything down, including the spring and summer AAU Circuit, Clemence, a four-star prospect, saw no need to wait any longer when it came to making a decision about his future.
After several Zoom calls with the coaching staff, Clemence went public with his decision on May 11. On Saturday morning, his verbal commitment became official by signing a NLOI.
“Everything,” said Clemence when asked what it means to sign with Kansas. “I wanted all of the work I’ve put in to lead to this point. I feel joy and I’m really happy. It’s the right fit for me, players and coaches, how it fits for me.”
Not surprisingly, his father, Elliott Clemence, couldn’t be any prouder of what his son has accomplished, and continues to accomplish, today.
“We’re proud of him,” he said. “He’s been wanting this since he was 8-10 years old. He’s been wanting to work to improve and get better all the time. He finally achieved the first step of his goals.”