Wicks Announces the Signing of Five Players for 2025 Season

Group includes a trio of guards and a pair of forwards

Sundance Wicks (left). Photo by Troy Babbitt, UW Athletics

LARAMIE, Wyo.  (May 12, 2025) – Cowboy basketball head coach Sundance Wicks announced on Monday the addition of five Cowboys to the 2025-26 roster. The group includes three guards along with a pair of forwards.

“In this year’s recruiting class, we have targeted specific guys for a specific mission, Wicks Said. “Each young man we sign has been intentionally identified, obsessively analyzed, and thoroughly vetted to fit our Cowboy Culture. We know that we are the home of the underdog, and the underdog mentality has always suited us well in the wild west.  This class will feature a multitude of players who are relentlessly competitive, high character team first guys, have helped their team win along their journey, and have a massive chip on their shoulder that gives them an everyday edge. We call them OKC’s (Our Kinda Cowboys). Please help us in welcoming our second wave of OKC’s for the 2025-26 class.”

Jared Harris is a 6-2, 178-pound guard. He comes to Wyoming after spending one season at Memphis. A native of Silsbee, Texas, Harris appeared in 16 games averaging three minutes per contest. He was one of the nation’s top prospects in 2023. He was rated as a four-star recruit and the No. 86 overall prospect by On3.com.

As a senior at Silsbee High School, Harris averaged 21.4 points per game, 5.8 rebounds per game and 5.2 assists per game. He ranked No. 45 in the nation with 309 field goals. As a junior, Harris averaged 18.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 2.0 steals in 37 games and guided his squad to the 4A regional final. He was a Beaumont Enterprise First-Team Super Gold selection and was named the Co-MVP of District 19-4A.

Wicks on Harris

“We scored ourselves a Texas Trifecta adding the highly touted Jared Harris to our roster.  Jared has the ability to be a very impactful player for us with his ability to play both ways and all the natural gifts he possesses.  What I loved most about our vetting of Jared Harris was that everyone we talked to absolutely loved the young man as a human being first and foremost.  High character and a crazy high ceiling, Jared has that rare mix of athleticism, aggression, skill, and the will to win.  Most importantly, he has a chip on his shoulder and is ready to prove himself at the highest level.  We could not be more jacked up to add Mr. Harris to our Cowboy Culture.  Time to get to work.”

Uriyah Rojas is a 6-3, 195-pound guard who has spent the last two seasons at Chaffey College in California. Rojas was named a CCCAA All-American in 2025. He appeared in 59 games over the last two seasons scoring over 1,100 points. He has shot 37.7 percent from behind the arc with 121 three-pointers. Last season, Rojas recorded 25.5 points per game with 7.7 rebounds with 4.9 assists per game. He scored 54 points in a win over Victor Valley. He was 17-of-29 from the field in the contest. He also added 48 points against Mt. San Jacinto.

He is a graduate of Los Osos High School and is a native of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.

Wicks on Rojas

“I really feel like we got a steal in Uriyah.  He was recently named to the NABC CCCAA Junior College All-American team. I felt like he was vastly under-recruited and over-looked for the season he had, not to mention the fact that he had helped Chaffey College go 50-11 in his two years there.  Winners win and Uriyah wins.  The thing that immediately stood out to me about Uriyah was the fact that he averaged 7.7 RPG as a 6-3 guard and had a 3:1 assist to turnover ratio.  Guard rebounding and ball security are two very underrated weapons that allows you to push pace and put pressure on the opposing teams.  We also needed to find a player that had made over 70 3’s in a season to help create more gravity offensively.  Uriyah has a very complete game and will be a special weapon in our system.  Help me welcome Uriyah Rojas to the wild west.”

Kiani Saxon is a 6-8, 210-pound forward from Auckland, New Zealand. He comes to Wyoming after two seasons at Missouri Western playing for Cowboy assistant coach Will Martin. He averaged 7.2 points per game in two seasons along with 3.9 rebounds per game in 23.9 minutes per night. He shot 54.2 percent from the field and recorded over one block per game. He added 6.4points and 4.2 rebounds last season starting all 31 games, as he has 61 starts in his career.  

Prior to his time at Missouri Western, Saxon played at LSU Eunice and at Liston College.

Wicks on Saxon

“Kiani is a great addition to our Cowboy Culture.  The first thing we need to understand about Kiani is that he has been developed at a high level by Coach Will Martin.  It is very easy to vet a young man when he comes from a coach you trust and a program that has had competitive excellence.  Cowboy fans will feel Cole Henry vibes when it comes to Kiani.  He has high feel, high skill and a high level of care.  He is the ultimate connector and will be an easy plug-n-play for the Pokes. Tough-minded winners are rare nowadays and he is every bit of that!  Let’s welcome our New Zealand native, Kiani Saxon, to Cowboy Country.”

Leland Walker is a 6-1, 185-pound guard from Indianapolis, Ind. He comes to Wyoming after spending last season at Florida Atlantic and two seasons at Eastern Kentucky. He has scored 1,125 career points and has 375 assists along with 99 career steals in 101 career games.

Last season he started 33 games. He averaged 9.2 points per game along with 2.7 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game. He scored a season-high 20 points at Central Florida. He had 14 games with five or more assists. As a sophomore at Eastern Kentucky, Walker was named First Team All-ASUN at 15.4 points per game with 2.7 rebounds and 4.1 assists. He broke the EKU single-game record with 16 assists against Wilberforce. He averaged 9.4 points per game as a true freshman.

He played the 2021-22 season at Hargrave Military Academy. He was ranked as the No. 39 point guard in his recruiting class. Prior to his time at Hargrave, he played at North Central High School and averaged over 19 points per game.

Wicks on Walker

“The last and final piece to our puzzle was finding an experienced Division I guard who knows what winning looks and feels like.  Leland has been a winner everywhere he has been.  He is a three-level scorer and a floor general who naturally excels at pushing pace and has never had a season where he has been under 100 assists.  I loved watching his film and seeing him orchestrate the offense for FAU last year.  It is easy to find scoring, but not so easy to find a willing leader in today’s game who connects it all.  Leland balances both worlds successfully.  A young man who has Grit & Gratitude is a great find and a great fit for Cowboy Basketball.  Please help me welcome Leland (L-Dub) Walker to our Cowboy Culture.”

Simm-Marten Saadi is a 6-9, 235-pound forward. He is a native of Estonia and is a member of the Estonian National Team. He also prepped at Sunrise Christian Academy in Wichita, Kan. At Sunrise he averaged over 14 points per game, over seven rebounds, and two assists. Saadi has also played for the Estonia National Team and during the U20 European Championship averaged 11.9 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists. He will be one of six players to have played NCAA Division I basketball from Estonia in the last two seasons.

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Wicks on Saadi

“The real Simm-Shady is coming to Laradise.  Simm is one of those players who will always make opposing teams’ question, what just happened?  He has an extremely high skill set, great feel for the game and a toughness that travels.  The Estonian National Team forward has an advanced knowledge of how the game of basketball should be played and the sacrifices that need to be made to compete and win at the highest level.  Simm has some genetic metrics that matter, he has huge hands and a 7FT+ wing-span to go along with his quick & efficient jump shot.  He will undoubtedly make an immediate impact for the Cowboys.  Welcome to Wyoming Simm Marten-Saadi.”

Buddy Hammer, who signed with the Cowboys will no longer attend the University of Wyoming due to personal reasons.