Maryland men's basketball has officially added Braden Pierce as the fourth member of the program's incoming freshman class, the school announced on Thursday. The 7-foot, 230-pound center played this past season at IMG Academy as part of their post-graduate national team.

Pierce joins an incoming freshman class ranked 13th nationally by Rivals and headlined by the No. 35-ranked player in the nation, Fairfax (Va.) Paul VI wing DeShawn Harris-Smith, who saw his ranking jump 13 spots this week in the final 2023 Rivals150. The class also includes the No. 61-ranked player in the nation, Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy wing Jamie Kaiser and the No. 87-ranked player in the nation, Baltimore (Md.) St. Frances guard Jahnathan Lamothe. Kaiser, Lamothe, and Pierce are set to team up together this Saturday, April 29 in the 50th Annual Hoop Culture Capital Classic at the Entertainment & Sports Arena in Washington, DC, while Harris-Smtih will take part in the Iverson All-American Game later that same day at Harwood Arena in Union, NJ.

"Braden has impressed us with his development over the past year as an athletic 7-footer," Maryland head coach Kevin Willard said in a statement. "He's unique in that his start in basketball was later than most, but we think he has great potential on both ends of the court."

This past season, Pierce averaged a double-double in scoring and rebounds while also averaging four blocks per game. Prior to his post-grad season at IMG, he played at River Ridge High School in Woodstock, Georgia and ran with Atlanta Xpress on the Under Armour AAU circuit.

In addition to Maryland, Pierce was also recruited by Missouri, Vanderbilt, Pitt, N.C. State, and Rutgers.