LARAMIE — Who said prep recruiting in college basketball is dead?

Development is still a trademark at the University of Wyoming, Sundance Wicks has said numerous times since arriving on campus in the spring of 2024. He proved that this past season by inserting two freshmen in the starting lineup: guard Naz Meyer and 6-foot-10 forward Gavin Gores.

Simm-Marten Saadi is another name to add to that list. So is Laramie’s own Neil Summers. The 6-foot-9 rookie redshirted this winter, but Wicks has been adamant that the big man will play a major role in the near future.

There are others on the way, too.

Madden Smiley, who is the son of Northern Colorado head coach Steve Smiley and the godson of Wicks, inked with Wyoming last September. The former Colorado 5A Player of the Year, who in 2024-25 led Windsor High School to its first state championship since 1924, was even better during his senior campaign.

He averaged better than 24 points a night while connecting on an eye-popping 60.1% of his shots from the field. From distance, the 6-foot-4 combo guard splashed nearly 40% of his attempts. He also added 7.9 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game.

The numbers, no doubt impressive, weren’t the determining factor behind Wicks’ offer.

“He’s a winner,” he said, bluntly. “We recruit winners. That’s what Madden is … We recruit guys who know how to win, who have a winning background and who’ve played in big games. Madden is a stud, man. He’s a stud. And I don’t say that because he’s my godson. I wouldn’t recruit him if I didn’t think he was good enough, but he’s good enough, man. And he’s a local kid that’s going to make an impact, immediately.”

Smiley received seven offers after his junior season. That list included Vermont, Colgate, Loyola Maryland and Southern Utah, among others.

Wicks and Co. landed another newbie with a winning pedigree, too.

Chris Pohl, a 6-foot-8 versatile forward, is fresh off leading his Marshfield High School team to a regional championship. He also joined the 1,000-point club in the process, averaging nearly 21 an outing while making 54.9% of his shots from the field. One of the top-ranked recruits in the state of Wisconsin, Pohl also snagged better than six boards a night and chipped in with 3.5 helpers.

He also committed to the Cowboys last September, turning down offers from North Dakota, North Dakota State, South Dakota State, Michigan Tech and others.

“Chris aligns perfectly with our identity of being skilled and scrappy. We fell in love with Chris’ edge, high feel and his shot-making ability,” Wicks said in a release last September. “CP has an extremely high floor, and when the Wyoming faithful watch him play, they are going to see a young man who leaves it all on the court every night.”

Retention is the primary focus for Wyoming’s staff at the moment. Wicks has said he would love to keep this roster intact, minus Leland Walker, Kiani Saxon and Matija Belic, who exhausted their eligibility this season.

Adam Harakow, a junior combo guard, who averaged 6.1 points and nearly three rebounds per game during his first year in Laramie, tells 7220sports.com he plans to return to the high plains next season.

The main question marks surround Meyer, a five-time Mountain West Freshman of the Week, who netted 12.9 a night, and Gores, who reached double figures in three of the Cowboys’ final four outings. Damarion Dennis (11.2 ppg) and Khaden Bennett (10.2 ppg) could also return.

“We all know that retention requires resources, right? It requires a commitment on our behalf to show that we’re still investing in those that are here with us,” Wicks said earlier this month. “It’s an important deal, and we’ve thought a lot about it.

“… It’s getting guys that really believe in what we’re trying to do and seeing the vision and the mission. But, I do know this: if you can return a good chunk of your roster — a good core of your roster — and the guys that choose to stay … I think if you do that, run it back next year in the Mountain West, you got a really good chance of competing for a championship.”

UW: University of Wyoming Cowboys’ Greatest Games From the First Decade of the 2000’s