PULLMAN, Wash. – Arinze Chidom (6-9, 200, Forward – Hayward, Calif./Sunrise Christian Academy Prep-Kan.) has signed an Athletic Aid Agreement and will join the Washington State University men's basketball program beginning with the 2016-17 season, head coach Ernie Kent announced Thursday. 

"Arinze completes an excellent recruiting class for this season," Kent said. "I like his length, athleticism, and most importantly, his skill set. He has a very bright future ahead of him and I'm excited to welcome him to the Cougar family."

Chidom spent one year at Sunrise Christian Academy Prep (2015-16) in Bel Aire, Kan., after graduating from Bishop O'Dowd High School in Oakland in 2015. At Sunrise, Chidom averaged 12 points, 5 rebounds and 3 steals a game. As a senior at Bishop O'Dowd, Chidom averaged 10 points, 6 rebounds and 2 steals as his team won the California open division championship in 2015. Chidom's older sister, Oderah, is a senior on the women's basketball team at Duke.

"The main reason I chose Washington State was that it was great school with strong academics," Chidom said. "I felt the coaching staff did a good job of showing me all the benefits of attending Washington State, and it's really a place that I belong. I know that the staff will take care of me as long as I take care of my business. Going into this I wanted to find a school that would fit me the best. I fell in the love with the campus, it's really nice, as well as the college-driven city of Pullman. I also really like my teammates. I felt like I wanted to go on campus and see if I could spend four or even five years at Washington State, and I definitely saw that and am excited about joining the Cougar family."

Chidom completes the incoming class that includes Keith Langston (6-5, 190, Guard – Chicago, Ill./Chabot College-Calif.), Jamar Ergas (6-4, 190, Guard, Toronto/Elite 1 Academy-Ariz.), Malachi Flynn (6-1, 165, Guard, Tacoma, Wash./Bellarmine Prep), Milan Acquaah (6-2, 195, Guard, Pasadena, Calif./Cathedral HS) and Jeff Pollard (6-8, 235, Forward, Bountiful Utah/Bountiful HS/Impact Academy), who each previously signed an NLI or FAA with the Cougars.