L.J. Cryer announced his transfer to the University of Houston last week, as the Morton Ranch graduate decided to return to his home city to continue his college career.

Cryer, who graduated from Morton Ranch in 2020, was part of the Baylor national championship team as a freshman in 2021 and became a focal point of the teams offense this year. He scored 30 points, a career high and a Baylor single NCAA Tournament game record, in Baylor’s 85-76 loss to Creighton in the second round of this year’s NCAAA Tournament.

Cryer joins the Cougars with two years of eligibility remaining. He averaged 15 points 2.1 rebounds and two assists during his junior year, while shooting 89.4 percent from the free throw line. He was named All-Big 12 third team.

As a sophomore in 2021-22, Cryer was limited with a foot injury but totaled 13.5 points and 1.5 rebounds per game. Cryer led the Bears in scoring eight times with five 20-point games.

During his career at Morton Ranch, Cryer scored 3,488 points, the fifth highest total in Texas public school history. As a senior he scored 1,164 points, setting the school single season record and he scored 50 points while dishing out 10 assists in his regular season finale. He was named All-State in 2020.

“LJ’s greatest strength is he is a bucket-getter. He can make shots. He gets to the free throw line, and he makes 3s. We had an established relationship with LJ and his family because we recruited him out of Morton Ranch High School. He is coming from a great program, and he has had success,” Sampson said. “I want LJ to come in here as part of a culture that breeds togetherness and toughness. With the talent that he has, LJ can be an outstanding addition for our program.”