June 23, 2015 ----Kendal Manuel, the No. 2 prospect in the state of Montana, committed to the Oregon State Beavers on Tuesday afternoon, becoming the final piece in the most celebrated hoops class in school history.
The 6-foot-4, 170-pound shooting guard, out of Skyview High School (Billings, Montana), took his official visit to Oregon State hoping a much-coveted offer would materialize, and when it did, he pounced.
"Oregon State just offered me and I committed to the 2015 class," he said. "They had a scholarship open and I'm going to be joining the team this year."
For some time, Manuel had been considering prep school, as a big-time offer failed to materialize for the under-the-radar prospect.
But that changed this week, ending talk of a 2016 recruiting cycle.
"Everybody pretty much was out of scholarships," he explained. "So, that's the reason I would've gone to prep school if nothing happened. Fortunately, Oregon State had a scholarship this year and they offered me."
For Manuel, Oregon State represents the most comfortable situation he could have hoped to join. The shooting guard has known the Tinkle family for years, having been recruited by Wayne Tinkle at Montana and growing up playing with Tres Tinkle.
"When Coach Tinkle was there at Montana, he was recruiting me," he said. "After my freshman year, I went to a camp there and he was starting to recruit me then. I just kept trying to work hard to get to his level, because he ended up leaving. I still wanted to go play for him wherever he ended up."
That focus to join Tinkle led Manuel to his trip to Corvallis this week, where he immediately connected with fellow 2015 commits Tinkle, Stephen Thompson Jr. and Derrick Bruce.
"Being able to play with Tres and Stevie and Derrick, all those guys," he said of the biggest factors in his decision. "We all kind of jelled together on this visit and it has been a great experience being with all these guys. Obviously, I'm close with the Tinkles and having that family atmosphere here is nice. That's why I wanted to commit to play at Oregon State."