5-star recruit Caleb Swanigan officially signs with Purdue

After decommitting from Michigan State earlier this month, five-star center Caleb Swanigan has decided to stay in-state in Indiana and join Purdue.

The university announced Thursday that Swanigan has officially signed on after committing to the program earlier in the week.

ESPN's Jeff Borzello first reported Swanigan's commitment to the Boilermakers.

The 6-foot-9 Fort Wayne native is ranked as the No. 9 recruit in the 2015 class by ESPN.

After Swanigan changed his mind on the Spartans, Purdue was considered a strong candidate to land him given the fact that his father, Roosevelt Barnes, is a former Boilermaker football and basketball player.

"He won a state championship in high school, he's Indiana Mr. Basketball and he felt like with what Purdue has coming back, he would get a chance to possibly win a national championship for the state of Indiana at a school that had never done it before," Barnes told Adam Zagoria of SNY of Swanigan on Tuesday.

Swanigan could help form one of the biggest front lines in the country alongside 7-foot-2 center Isaac Haas and seven-footer A.J. Hammons.

"We are very excited about signing Biggie. He gives us a guy that we feel can dominate at this level in a couple of areas," Purdue head coach Matt Painter said in a statement. "He is an outstanding rebounder, a great decision-maker and an overall winner. We are going to need him to score in many different fashions for this team. His ability to play alongside either A.J. (Hammons) or Isaac (Haas) gives us a look that very few have in the country."