Former Florida International guard and NCAA steals leader Arturo Dean is headed to Oklahoma State as the first official signing of the Steve Lutz Era.

The 5-foot-11 guard tallied 185 steals in two seasons at FIU, including a nation-best 104 this past year, and twice made Conference USA's all-defensive team. He was a third team All-CUSA performer in 2024 after pacing FIU in points (13.4), rebounds (5.1), assists (4.0) and steals (3.35), and was the league's rookie and defensive player of the year as a freshman in 2023.

Lutz said:

"Arturo is a great young man from a great family and has been well-coached along the way. He takes tremendous pride in his defense, which isn't often the case with young players. You don't get to 100+ steals by accident. That number is a product of hard work, outstanding physical tools and an unrelenting will to win. Cowboy fans are going to love his toughness and the energy that he brings to our team."

Dean terrorized opponents during the 2023-24 season, recording two-or-more thefts in 27 of his 31 games, highlighted by a rare 13-point, 10-steal double-double against Florida Gulf Coast.

Dean's season steal percentage (6.44%) was the ninth-highest in the 21 years that KenPom has tracked such data. In other words, roughly 1-in-15 opponent possessions ended with a Dean steal.

Dean was the Miami area player of the year after a standout season at Calusa Prep but opted for a postgraduate year at Connecticut-based Putnam Science Academy, where he was part of a team that finished 38-0 and won the 2022 national prep school championship.

The Florida native already has one Oklahoma tie, through older brother Toru, a senior starter on Langston University's 2024 NAIA national runner-up squad.

The younger Dean will be a junior next fall with two seasons of eligibility remaining.