6'5" 17yo Marcus Vaughns commits to LSU Tigers

• Centre of Excellence's Marcus Vaughns has committed to LSU Tigers in NCAA Men's Basketball
• Vaughns is from Melbourne, is 198cm tall and left handed
• Vaughns is following in the footsteps of former No1 NBA draft pick Ben Simmons

The lure of the SEC US men's college basketball conference — and a long-term friendship with LSU associate head coach David Patrick — made Australian Marcus Vaughns' decision to commit to the Tigers class of 2026 a no-brainer.

The Melbourne-born 17-year-old wing told TheBengalTiger’s Matthew Brune: "Coach David Patrick, I’ve known him basically my whole life, since I was like five years old.

"Coach Patrick has known my dad [for a long time]. When he was at TCU, he would fly out to Australia pretty regularly and I met him at a practice and ever since then I see him every time he flies out. Just recently he flew out to come watch one of my practices."

But it was a visit to the Baton Rogue, Louisiana, campus in February that sealed the deal for the Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence standout.

“The visit was awesome,” Vaughns said.

"It really blew me away. I already knew their facilities were top tier, but when I saw it, it really blew my mind.

"The coaching staff, the performance centre, the academic centres, it’s all very nice and LSU is an amazing place."

Vaughns, 198cm, is following in the footsteps of Rookie of the Year and two-time NBA All-Star Ben Simmons, who spent two years at LSU in 2015 and 2016 before being taken with the first pick in the 2016 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers.

Left-handed Vaughns has played five games for CoE in the 2025 NBL1 East Men's Conference, averaging 7.4 points per game, 5.6 rebounds, 1.2 assists, and 1.2 steals in about 17 minutes per game.

Vaughns was selected for the Basketball without Borders in NBA All-Star Weekend and is viewed as one of the best international young prospects in the world. He has also played in the G League Showcase in 2024, further showing his talent level and potential for the next level.

"[The coaches] were talking about how many draft picks have come through the SEC, how many top 25 teams are in the SEC, and how that conference is the best conference in college basketball for exposure," Vaughns said.

"They definitely hyped that up."

Australian women's basketballer Last-Tear Poa won a national championship with the LSU Tigers in 2023.

Vaughns posted his commitment photo to Instagram with the message: "Grateful to announce my commitment to LSU!! Thank you to everyone who has supported me along the way, and a big thank you to @basketballauscoe and @nbaacademy for helping me achieve this lifelong dream #geauxtigers."