Santa Clarita (Ca.) Southern California Academy guard Kelvin Odih has given the West Virginia 2025 recruiting class a massive addition after selecting the Mountaineers.
Odih, 6-foot-4, 190-pounds, selected the Mountaineers over a final six that included Rutgers, Colorado, Louisville, Oklahoma State and Creighton.
However, West Virginia and Rutgers were considered the two schools that moved to the forefront of his recruitment in recent weeks.
West Virginia jumped into the mix in late July with a scholarship offer and the Mountaineers were a constant from that point forward with the coaching staff making Odih a priority on the recruiting trail.
Assistant Tom Ostrom served as the point man in the recruitment of Odih, but he also developed a close connection with head coach Darian DeVries.
That connection between the two led to Odih taking an official visit to Morgantown over the Aug. 30 weekend and he left highly impressed with the school and their plans for him on both ends of the basketball floor.
Odih, who is rated as the nation’s No. 77 best prospect, is a versatile guard that can play anywhere from the one to the three and also excels on the defensive end.
The Rivals.com four-star prospect becomes the second commitment for West Virginia in the 2025 class behind Huntington Prep (W.Va.) wing Braydon Hawthorne and will serve as a strong building block moving forward.
WVSports.com breaks down the commitment of Odih and what it means to the West Virginia Mountaineers basketball program both now and in the future.
Skill set:
Odih is a multi-dimensional player that can affect the game in a lot of different ways. A good scorer when getting downhill at the basket, the athletic guard also displays the ability to shoot the ball and space the floor. A better shooter than he is credited for, Odih still even has room to grow there making him an exciting option in the backcourt.
One of the better rebounding guards in his class, Odih is a physical option that plays the game with toughness on both ends of the floor.
Has the versatility to play anywhere from the one to the three and can effectively defend each as well. It’s no surprise that Odih has only continued to rise up the recruiting rankings as he still has plenty of room to grow and improve on top of what he already brings to the table.
West Virginia was able to land a tough-nosed, athletic guard that is going to be able to make an impact immediately given everything that he brings to the table.
Fitting the program:
West Virginia made Odih a priority in this cycle and those efforts paid off with a major commitment from the versatile guard. The Mountaineers are set to lose seven scholarship players next season which means that Odih should be able to step into an immediate role considering that DeVries will utilize a guard-heavy lineup and a total of five of those exiting are either guards or wings.
Odih is a great fit for what West Virginia wants both in terms of a rebounding and defensive aspect as well as how he can score in a wide-open style of offensive attack. He can get downhill to the rim and has the ability to finish which makes his potential exciting with the Mountaineers.
Originally from Rhode Island, Odih also spent a year at prep school in Connecticut prior to heading over to his current location after his head coach left. That makes this a good regional fit as well.
It’s also a big win for DeVries in the sense that the first-year head coach was able to win a massive recruiting victory in the 2025 cycle and gives the program a strong base to build around. There are still as many as five spots to fill in this class, but the four-star prospect is a major win.
Recruiting the position:
West Virginia isn’t done adding in this cycle and while some of that might not come until either the late period or when the transfer portal opens up next spring, this is a strong place to start. Still, expect the coaching staff to be active when it comes to filling those positions and with a four-out, sometimes five-out offensive look the majority of those additions are going to be either guards or wings.
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