The Crimson confirmed today that men’s basketball coach Tommy Amaker has secured a verbal commitment from 2011 big man Kenyatta Smith.

The No. 13 center in the nation according to Scout.com, Smith, a senior at Flintridge Prep School (La Canada Flintridge, Calif.) chose Harvard over Vanderbilt and league rival Penn.

“It was just a great visit. I love the campus; I love the people, everything—just beautiful,” the 6'8, 255-lb Smith said while in attendance at the Crimson football team’s opener against Holy Cross Saturday night.

“I thought about [visiting other schools], but I’ve been to Penn before. I saw the campus and everything, and I just didn’t feel the connection that I did here,” Smith said of his first visit to the area. “I just love Boston as a city.”

Smith sounded unfazed by Harvard’s lack of long-standing men’s basketball success.

“We haven’t had a lot of history of winning, but that’s what I want to be a part of,” Smith said. “I want to start a history of winning, a tradition. I want to be there when that first happens—and I know it’s going to happen. It’s coming soon, and I want to be a part of it.”

Giving Amaker a much-needed front court boost, Smith joins Minnesota forward Jonah Travis in the Crimson’s future class of 2015. Prospects Andre Hollins, Spencer Dinwiddie, and Steve Moundou-Missi also took in the football game.