LARAMIE -- Cameron Harvey already had offers from the likes of Big East school Marquette and Baylor of the Big 12.

Big Ten programs such as Indiana and Purdue as well as Notre Dame and Xavier may have been on the verge of following suit.

Cameron Harvey will head West instead.

Harvey, one of the top sophomore basketball prospects in the state of Illinois, said Sunday that he has given a verbal commitment to Wyoming following this weekend's unofficial visit here.

"I feel like a whole bunch of weight is just off my shoulders right now," Harvey said in a phone interview. "I don't have to worry about it through my junior and senior year. Now I can just focus on the team at St. Joe's and winning state championships. It just feels real good."

Harvey, who lives in Naperville, Ill., will be a sophomore this season at St. Joseph's in Westchester, Ill., just west of Chicago, where he averaged about 15 points, six assists and five rebounds per game last season.

He had visited Laramie unofficially before this weekend, but made his decision after being sold on the program and staff of Schroyer, UW's third-year coach.

"Personally, I liked the coaching staff," Harvey said. "The coaching staff really sold me. They really led me and kept me thinking about the school.

"[Schroyer] is a player's coach. He loves his players and really takes care of them and I love that about him. Some coaches are and some coaches aren't like that, but I really trust Schroyer and think he's a great guy."

The Pokes prospect was also sold on UW's engineering program.

Schroyer cannot comment because verbal commitments are nonbinding, and college coaches are not allowed to comment on recruits until players sign their letters of intent.

But it's clear that he and his coaching staff are already working ahead in the recruiting process.

They currently have one scholarship in hand, but have just one senior and one junior on scholarship, leaving them few openings over the next couple of seasons.

But with seven sophomores on the team entering the 2009-10 season, the Cowboys need to start filling the gaps that will be made with the departure of a huge class.

Harvey is confident in the direction of the program and thinks that the current sophomore class will set the bar high by the time he arrives.

"The players are great," Harvey said. "They kind of remind me of the players I play with on my AAU team. They're all good guys and have good heads on their shoulders."

Harvey's father, Brian, said he anticipated his son receiving many more offers after this season, but his son didn't feel the need to wait.

"We went to all the places, but it just felt like the right fit with the engineering program and we could kind envision him getting his degree in Laramie," Brian Harvey said. "[Schroyer] needed an impact player right away and they think Cameron is that player. That gave Cameron the confidence to say this is the university he's going to be playing for."

High major programs were in his ear, but for Cameron Harvey, Wyoming was the top choice.

Contact Laramie-based sports reporter Eric Schmoldt at eric.schmoldt@trib.com. Check out his blog at tribtown.trib.com/ESchmoldt/blog

COWBOYS TRACER

SUNDAY: The Wyoming men's basketball program got the first verbal commitment for its 2012 recruiting class when Illinois prep star Cameron Harvey said he'll go to school in Laramie.

EARLY RETURNS: The Cowboys, with seven current sophomores, will likely have a big recruiting class in 2012 and third-year coach Heath Schroyer and his staff got started early.

HARVEY FILE: Harvey, who attends St. Joseph's High School in Westchester, Ill., averaged about 15 points, six assists and five rebounds per game last year and was on the radar of schools in the Big Ten, Big 12 and Big East.

HE SAID IT: "I feel like a whole bunch of weight is just off my shoulders right now." -- Harvey.