Hamilton Heights guard-forward Randy Brady, a Chattanooga native, committed to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga basketball program Friday afternoon. Brady would become the first local player to sign with the Mocs program out of high school since former Tyner standout Jeff Smith over a decade ago.
The 6-foot-6 Brady, who also played his freshman season at Baylor, is the first player to commit to head coach Lamont Paris's program this year. He is rated a three-star prospect according to 247Sports.com's composite rankings, and his overall rating of 0.8539 makes him the seventh-highest rated prospect ever from Chattanooga. Four of the top eight - current senior forward Darius Banks, who started his career at James Madison; forward Kevin Easley and guard Maurice Commander - have come to UTC to play for Paris.
Brady chose the Mocs over a final list that included Florida, Ohio State, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt, New Orleans and Tennessee State. He also had offers at some point from Florida State, LSU, Middle Tennessee State and Tennessee.
He's now the second Chattanooga-area player expected to be on the roster, joining freshman and former East Hamilton standout Jamaal Walker, who started his career as a walk-on but was put on scholarship midway through the 2020-21 season.
For more information, read Saturday's Times Free Press.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3.