Carmel's Alex Couto Will Play Division I Basketball For Staff With Plenty Of Indiana Ties

Alex Couto is taking a different path to college than he originally anticipated.

The Carmel High School senior guard committed Oral Roberts on Friday during a visit to campus. Couto, a point guard, had been committed to Huntington University until coach Kory Alford left to become the associate head coach at Oral Roberts.

“Oral Roberts stood out to me in many ways, but the main reason was the culture they are wanting to build, and they are a very faith-based program,” Couto said. “Also, the coaching staff. They are two feet bought in with everything that they do, and I couldn’t be more happy with this decision to continue this next chapter in my life.”

Kory Barnett was hired as the Oral Roberts coach in late March. Barnett had served on Indiana coach Darian DeVries’ staff at West Virginia last season and previously spent five years at Nevada and six at UCLA on Steve Alford’s staff. Barnett is a Rochester, Ind., native who played at IU from 2009-12.

Couto was one of the state’s top guards as a senior but injured his knee — a sprain of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and medial collateral ligament (MCL) and bone bruise — and missed the final six weeks of the season. In Carmel’s first 11 games, he played all but five minutes, averaging 12.6 points, 4.0 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 1.2 steals, shooting 43.1% (25-for-58) from the 3-point line.

“I’ve never coached a kid that played with so much joy, passion and love for the game,” Carmel coach Ryan Osborn said. “His presence alone lifts everyone up.”

Oral Roberts struggled to a 7-23 record last season. The Golden Eagles made a run to the Sweet 16 in 2021 as a No. 15 seed, defeating Ohio State and Florida before losing to Arkansas by two points at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. ORU made the NCAA tournament again in 2023, finishing with a 30-5 record. Coach Paul Mills left after that season for Wichita State.

Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649. Get IndyStar's high school coverage sent directly to your inbox with the High School Sports newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Basketball recruiting: Carmel's Alex Couto commits to Oral Roberts