Best Unsigned Senior Chooses Arkansas

May 4, 2017

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – One of the top unsigned seniors, Arlington, Texas native Taylah Thomas, has found a home as Arkansas head coach Mike Neighbors announced her signing with the Razorbacks on Thursday.

Thomas played her prep ball for the Mansfield Timberview Wolves under the direction of former Razorback assistant coach Kit Kyle Martin and is considered one of the top power forwards out of Texas. Thomas averaged 10.6 points per game and 7.6 rebounds per game as a senior.

“There’s no other way to say this … we are lucky … very lucky,” Neighbors said.

“We are lucky that Taylah Thomas was unsigned on April 4th,” he continued. “We are lucky that she played for Kit (Kyle) Martin, a former Razorback assistant coach. We are lucky that she never gave up on a dream to play in the Southeastern Conference. She bonded with our current players and staff from the second she arrived on campus and we can’t wait to get her back up here as soon as possible.

“You don’t help lead your team to a state championship game in the state of Texas without having all the tools it takes to compete at the Division I level,” Neighbors added. “Coach Martin has prepared her for the next step in her education and in her basketball career. Taylah will remind Razorback fans of Lonniya Bragg, Whitney Jones, Ashley Daniels and Karen Jones and when Taylah graduates, future Razorbacks will be compared to her.”

Dan Olson of espnw.com had this to say about Thomas:
“She is an explosively athletic interior performer with off-the-charts potential; quick leaper, active on the glass; has length and wingspan, plays taller than advertised; quick in block, superb in up-tempo, pressure defenses; a sleeper in the class of 2017.”

Thomas led the Wolves to a 37-3 record and a perfect 14-0 mark in district play. They ranked No. 9 in the nation and No. 3 in the state of Texas. The Wolves are the 2017 5A state runners-up and Thomas was selected to the all-tournament team.

Other honors include all-tournament team honors at the Frisco Tip-Off Classic, the Fort Worth Cowtown Classic and the Mansfield Rotary Tournament. She paced the Wolves to 18 consecutive victories and earned District 10 5A First-Team All-District honors, TGCA All-State honors and was selected to play in the TABC All-Star Game in San Antonio, Texas, on May 19.

Thomas is the second signee of Neighbors and his staff this spring. She joins Malvern, Arkansas native Raven Northcross-Baker who signed with the Razorbacks last week.