East Ridge’s Cedric Tomes and Wayzata’s Nolen Anderson kicked off National Signing Day on Wednesday by making their commitment to the Gophers men’s basketball team official.

“I’m super excited,” Tomes told Strib Varsity after signing with other East Ridge athletes at the high school gym. “To play for my home state is kind of what every kid dreams of. It’s for sure what I’ve dreamed of. Now that I’ve signed, I’m just excited to make my impact right away.”

Tomes, a 6-foot guard, averaged 27.3 points and had a breakout year as a junior for the Raptors last season, putting up three 40-point games.

Anderson, a 6-7 wing, averaged 17.5 points last season and led the Trojans to the Class 4A state title with a team-best 24 points, 10 rebounds and two steals in the championship game against Cretin-Derham Hall at Williams Arena.

Tomes and Anderson were AAU teammates at D1 Minnesota with Wayzata’s Christian Wiggins, who signed Wednesday with Iowa State.

“He’s a great player to play with,” Tomes said of Anderson. “He’s a funny guy, but he’s serious about his work, too. You love to be around people who are about their work.”

Six of the top eight players in Prep Hoops’ Class of 2026 rankings played on the same D1 Minnesota traveling team and signed Wednesday. The others are Faribault’s Ryan Kreager (Illinois Chicago), Totino-Grace’s Dothan Ijadimbola (Northern Iowa) and Maple Grove’s Max Iverson (North Dakota State).

Other top boys basketball seniors signed letters of athletic aid to play at the Division I level Wednesday.

Cretin-Derham Hall guard JoJo Mitchell, who helped the Raiders finish as Class 4A runner-up, signed with St. Thomas.

The surprise of the day was Hopkins guard Jayden Moore announcing his commitment and signing with North Dakota.

Moore, who was also a standout wide receiver, was the only top-10 senior uncommitted entering Signing Day. He follows former high school basketball teammate Anthony Smith III to North Dakota.