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Jeff Borzello, ESPN Staff Writer
High school recruiting used to take center stage almost immediately after the college basketball season ended: evaluation periods in April, target boards for the upcoming cycle finalized heading into the late spring and summer, and recruitments advancing shortly after the July evaluation periods end.
With the explosion of the transfer portal, that’s no longer the case, with future classes overshadowed by the need to put together a roster that will play in a few months.
For the next three weeks, college coaches will travel across the country watching the future of college basketball. The expansion of evaluation periods in June — with the NBPA Top 100 camp now open to college coaches, as well as two scholastic periods — has made July less of the be-all, end-all when it comes to summer recruiting. But it’s still the best opportunity to watch a wide range of players compete.
So what are the storylines to watch this month? Let’s break it down.
Is A.J. Dybantsa the clear No. 1 prospect in the next recruiting class?
A year ago, Dybantsa (Class of 2026), Cooper Flagg (2025) and Cameron Boozer (2025) were in a three-way debate as the best high school prospect in the country. Since then, Flagg moved up to 2024 and is suiting up for Duke in November. Dybantsa, meanwhile, reclassified to 2025, and has established himself as the consensus No. 1 prospect in the class.
But don’t count out Boozer just yet.
He has been remarkably productive since his high school career began and led the Nike EYBL in scoring and rebounding, also ranking No. 1 by a wide margin in individual offensive efficiency. Boozer also dominated at the FIBA U17 World Cup, where he represented the United States alongside Dybantsa and No. 1 junior Tyran Stokes. Boozer paced the U.S. in scoring and rebounding en route to a gold medal and MVP honors. Dybantsa’s combination of size, three-level scoring ability and high ceiling gives him the long-term edge, but Boozer’s consistent production makes for an interesting short-term debate.
Which programs are off to a strong start in 2025?
Only one program, Ole Miss, has two commitments from ESPN 100 prospects: Patton Pinkins (No. 76), the son of Rebels assistant Al Pinkins, and Tylis Jordan (No. 84), who committed in late June. Chris Beard’s program is also involved with Mikel Brown Jr. (No. 16) and Kaden Magwood (No. 61).
Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger has made a habit of getting his work done early on the recruiting trail, and the Cyclones already have Xzavion Mitchell (No. 68), Jamarion Batemon and Macari Moore in the fold for the 2025-26 season.
Providence is also in good shape, landing Jamier Jones (No. 29) in May and adding four-star Jaylen Harrell earlier this month.
Who will be the first five-star to commit?
Only 17 players in the ESPN 100 are currently committed, with zero five-stars off the board. No. 20 Sadiq White (Charlotte, North Carolina), who’s heading to Syracuse, is the highest-ranked commit so far this cycle.
Several highly ranked prospects have advanced deep into the recruiting process. Darius Acuff (No. 10) cut his list to four schools in late June: Arkansas, Kansas, UConn and Michigan. Jasper Johnson (No. 12) recently took visits to Kentucky, Alabama, Illinois and North Carolina, while Isiah Harwell (No. 13) trimmed his list to Cal, Gonzaga, Houston and Texas last month.
Does John Calipari alter his roster approach?
Cuseeeeeeeeeeee !!!😊😊
— Sadiq White (@SadiqWhite11) May 29, 2024
Since he left Kentucky for Arkansas in April, Calipari has made it clear he will approach roster construction differently in Fayetteville. In early May, he said he wants only eight or nine players on his roster due to the constant turnover in college basketball — and then said at SEC meetings he’s “not going to take six, seven freshmen now. It’ll be three or four.” It’s a stark contrast to the Hall of Fame coach’s recruiting history, which included seven No. 1 recruiting classes since he took over at Kentucky in 2009 and rarely ranked outside the top two.
With his arrival, the Razorbacks are now in the mix for a long list of talent, led by Darius Acuff (No. 10) and Meleek Thomas (No. 7), who visited Fayetteville in late June. Dybantsa (No. 1), Boozer (No. 2), Darryn Peterson (No. 3), Koa Peat (No. 4), Chris Cenac Jr. (No. 6) and others are also on Arkansas’ list.
Can Mark Pope keep Kentucky at the top of the recruiting rankings?
Kentucky basketball became accustomed to a certain level of recruit during Calipari’s tenure, landing 53 five-star recruits and producing 25 lottery picks in the NBA draft. Can Mark Pope, who landed one ESPN 100 prospect while at BYU (Collin Chandler, who is now at Kentucky), continue the Wildcats’ high-level recruiting success?
He has certainly been aggressive. Kentucky hosted a slew of 2025 prospects in recent weeks, including Jasper Johnson (No. 12), Braylon Mullins (No. 30), Malachi Moreno (No. 37) and Acaden Lewis (No. 39). The Wildcats also set up official visits with Mullins and Tounde Yessoufou (No. 19). Other targets include Dybantsa, Peterson, Cenac, Brown, Nate Ament (No. 8), Brayden Burries (No. 11), Dwayne Aristode (No. 22), Niko Bundalo (No. 25) and Eric Reibe (No. 26).
After a great visit and conversation with Coach Pope I am blessed to receive an offer from @KentuckyMBB!!! Thank you for the opportunity!!! 🔵⚪️ pic.twitter.com/1nU3MA7xk8
— Braylon Mullins (@mullins_braylon) June 24, 2024
Will anyone reclassify after the live periods?
The 2025 class has already seen a number of reclassifications this spring, with highly touted prospects Will Riley (Illinois), Moustapha Thiam (UCF) and Oswin Erhunmwunse (Providence) all making the move up a class. Joson Sanon (Arizona State) made the same decision earlier this year.
The most recent name to make the move is Jeremiah Fears (No. 24), who decommitted from Illinois and reopened his recruitment on July 1, with the intention of playing in college next season. Kentucky and USC are among the schools interested. Every year, there are players who suit up during the July live periods before officially changing classes. Several players did it in the spring of 2023, GG Jackson notably did it in 2022, and so did Emoni Bates and Jalen Duren in 2021. So there could be some movement come late July or early August.
Will spring breakouts continue into July?
Some of the biggest risers in ESPN’s updated 2025 rankings last week included Cenac, who went from No. 36 to No. 6; Ament, who jumped from No. 40 to No. 8; Mullins, who was unranked and now sits at No. 30; and Keyshaun Tillery, who went from unranked to No. 50.
🗣 COUNT IT.
🇺🇸 @chriscenacjr x #FIBAU17 pic.twitter.com/kjQNn2RUF0
— USABJNT (@usabjnt) June 30, 2024
Cenac won MVP at the NBPA Top 100 camp and made the USA Basketball team; Houston and LSU have hosted him for visits, but UConn, Kentucky, Kansas, UCLA, Alabama and others have extended offers. Ament has always had intriguing potential, but he performed well on the Adidas circuit and also represented the United States at the U18 FIBA Americas. Duke, Virginia, UConn, Kentucky, North Carolina, Louisville and others are involved.
Mullins proved himself as an elite shot-maker on the Adidas circuit this spring, and his recruitment is growing as a result; Kentucky extended an offer, and he took a trip to Lexington. He also recently took unofficial visits to Purdue and Ohio State, with official visits set up to UConn, Michigan, North Carolina, Indiana, Tennessee and Kentucky. Meanwhile, Tillery has emerged as a terrific two-way point guard and continues to add high-major interest. He’s also someone who could potentially move into 2024.
Where will coaches be this month?
The headline event every July is the Nike Peach Jam in North Augusta, South Carolina. It features the best Nike grassroots teams, and this year it will span the first two live periods. Adidas’ marquee event for its 3SSB circuit is the gold championship in Rock Hill, South Carolina from July 11-14. Under Armour has events in each of the first two weekends: Georgia for the first period, Illinois for the second. Puma’s Pro16 Circuit will have its summer tournament in Phoenix during the first period and Indianapolis for the second. Outside of the shoe company circuits, there are dozens of independent events — Hoop Group, Pangos, etc. — for coaches to watch.
The third evaluation period (July 21-23) is for the NCAA College Basketball Academy only.