Josten Thomas, the leading scorer and rebounder on a talented College of Southern Idaho team, said he will play for the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team next season.

Thomas, a 6-foot-7, 225-pound guard/forward, averaged 15.3 points and 8.2 rebounds per game as a freshman last season.

"I just feel like Hawai'i is going to be a great place for me to play," Thomas said. "I met Coach Gib (Arnold) and I liked what he had in mind for me over there."

Thomas said he was also being recruited by Arizona, West Virginia, Eastern Michigan and Southern Mississippi.

He was highly-recruited during his senior year of high school at God's Academy in Texas, and said he was planning on signing with Baylor. However, he did not meet the NCAA academic requirements and instead attended Southern Idaho.

He redshirted his first year at Southern Idaho, and helped lead the team to a 20-12 record this past season. Several of his Southern Idaho teammates have signed with major programs, including Duke (Carrick Felix) and Washington (Aziz Ndiaye).

Thomas must still graduate from Southern Idaho with an associate's degree before he can be eligible at Hawai'i. He said he expects to complete his courses this summer.

If he receives his associate's degree this summer, he would have three seasons of eligibility at Hawai'i.

Arnold, who was named the new Hawai'i head coach last month, is a former coach at Southern Idaho.

Thomas is the third recruit to commit to Hawai'i during the current signing period. Trevor Wiseman of Golden Valley High in California, and Vander Joaquim of Eastern Utah previously said they would attend UH.