MALIBU, California – The Pepperdine men's basketball team landed one of the nation's top remaining unsigned prospects on Wednesday when Maxwell Lewis signed a grant-in-aid to join the Waves.
 
Lewis, a 6-foot-7 forward who hails from Las Vegas, is rated as a four-star recruit and was at one time listed among the nation's top 100 players in the class of 2021.
 
After a standout junior season in 2019-20 where he averaged 14.5 points per game at Compass Prep in Arizona, Lewis elected to skip his final year of high school basketball to train for the NBA Draft. However, in recent months he changed his mind and decided to go the college route.
 
"Maxwell is an exceptional basketball player," said Pepperdine Coach Lorenzo Romar. "He has a very well-rounded game. He can shoot from the perimeter and pass the basketball, and he has elite athleticism. He has great length, which should potentially make him an outstanding defender. He will have an immediate impact on our program. With Kessler Edwards leaving to go into the NBA Draft, we were very fortunate to get someone of Maxwell's caliber at this late stage of recruiting. He will be fun to watch and coach."
 
Lewis plays AAU ball with Dream Vision and recently won championships at the 3-Stripes Select Basketball and the Las Vegas Summer Champions events, and he was MVP in Las Vegas.
 
He earned a four-star rating from both 247 Sports and Rivals, and had a grade of 90 according to 247 Sports. He had scholarship offers from many high-major programs before making his professional intentions known.
 
"When I first took a visit to Pepperdine it literally felt like I was on vacation," Lewis said. "The scenery is amazing. I love the beach and it's right next to campus. The team is cool. I got along with all of them as soon I met them. The coaching staff is great and I could talk to them about anything. It's really a family bond there."
 
The Waves had a scholarship open up when Edwards decided to stay in the NBA Draft. He is expected to become the first Wave selected since 2005 when the NBA Draft is held on Thursday night.
 
Lewis will be one of seven new scholarship players joining Pepperdine's roster for the 2021-22 season. The Waves are coming off a year in which they won the postseason College Basketball Invitational.