Justin Lewis

Four-star forward Justin Lewis verbally committed to Marquette on Wednesday, he tells 247Sports.

“I picked Marquette because when I went on my visit I liked it, I loved it,” Lewis said. “At first I was second guessing it, as far as distance, because it was far in Milwaukee, but after I went on the visit I had fun. I got to know the guys a little bit, see how the program is, and it changed my whole mindset about the place.”

Lewis took his official visit to Marquette the weekend of June 1, but also took an unofficial visit to campus prior. Among the reasons Lewis picked the Golden Eagles is how early they targeted him and never wavered.

“Then as far as the coaching staff, they’ve been consistently recruiting me,” Lewis added. “They’ve always been there, they never backed off from me, and they showed me love so I just wanted to do it.”

“That meant a lot, because I’ve seen some schools that were there, and then I stopped talking to them for a little while and then they came back,” he said. “It kind of showed that they were always there and I’m a priority there, and I’m not a priority everywhere else.”

Lewis, a standout at Baltimore (Md.) Poly, said he picked Marquette over serious interest from Connecticut and Virginia Tech.

“They always giving me positive feedback and things I need to work on,” Lewis said. “They’ve just always been supportive and they’ve always been there and I felt good going down there and like I fit in with the guys perfectly and I liked that a lot.”

Lewis is coming off a strong spring and summer playing for Team Melo on the Nike EYBL circuit. In 16 EYBL games, Lewis averaged 18.3 points and 9.4 rebounds a game.

“I can see myself building and keep getting better at Marquette,” Lewis explained. “Everything coach [Steve] Wojciechowski says, I believe in him, he can develop my game, and I just think I can be successful there.”

Lewis is regarded as the No. 74 overall prospect and the No. 10 power forward in the 247Sports Composite Rankings. Lewis is Marquette’s first pledge of the 2020 recruiting class.