There’s no question that Pierce Thomas is one of the top athletes in the Midwest in the Class of 2021.

The multi-sport standout jumped 24 feet as an 8th grader in track and field, but his first love is basketball. Now as a sophomore at Brownsburg High School in Indiana, Thomas is already turning heads on the hardwood.

What’s interesting about Thomas is that the 6-foot-4 guard has ties to the state of Iowa. His mom’s side of the family is from Eagle Grove, so it made sense that once the Iowa basketball coaches started showing interest in him that he would make a visit to Iowa City.

The Hawkeyes are a relatively recent arrival on the scene as far as a recruiting suitor for Thomas, who is having a very good sophomore campaign.

“Iowa is kind of a new school as far as recruiting,” Thomas said. They have been recruiting me for a couple of months, sending letters and coming a few of my games.”

That led to Thomas taking Iowa up on an opportunity to make an unofficial visit this past Sunday with his dad and grandfather to watch the Hawkeyes pull off a miracle win over Northwestern.

“It ended up being a great game. The ending was crazy and it might have been the best comeback that I have ever seen. The fans really stuck with the team and that impressed me as well.”

After the game, Thomas spent time in the locker room with head coach Fran McCaffery and assistant coach Sherman Dillard, who is leading Iowa’s recruiting efforts.

“We talked after the game and they said that they will be coming to more of my games and that I should keep working and improving my game,” Thomas said.

Thomas already holds an offer from Butler and has interest from Ohio State, Purdue, Kentucky, Xavier, Notre Dame, Louisville, Creighton, and Nebraska. His hope is that he will focus on basketball once he gets to college.

“Basketball is definitely my favorite sport,” he said.

On the court, Thomas says he’s more of a two guard, but could be a combo guard if needed.

“I am probably a two guard in college. I am a pretty good passer and can handle the ball, so I could play the point if needed. In our high school offense I play more of a forward because I’m one of the bigger guys on the team.”

This spring, Thomas plays to play with the Indy Heat AAU program in Nike’s EYBL.