Arizona State loses two recruits

Arizona State announced that they would be letting head coach Herb Sendek go on Tuesday, and there was an immediate impact on its recruiting, especially in the class of 2016.

Within hours of the Sendek news breaking, the Sun Devils lost commitments from two thirds of their 2016 class as both four-star wing Brendan Bailey and three-star point guard Lindsey Drew confirmed that they were rescinding their commitments rather than waiting to see who replaced Sendek.

For now, though, four-star big man Lucas Siewert -- the Sun Devils third commitment in the 2016 class -- is going to wait and see what happens his coach William Middlebrooks told Rivals.com on Tuesday.

The losses will certainly hurt as both Bailey and Drew had stock on the rise. A 6-foot-7 small forward from Highland (Utah) American Fork, Bailey currently ranks No. 78 in the class of 2016. A long jump shooter with deep range and high skill, Bailey is set to move up in the national rankings when they get updated after Easter. Bailey's older sister is a volleyball player for the Sun Devils and the family is quite familiar with the school so it isn't out of the realm of possibility that ASU remains a strong contender once Sendek's replacement (we'll get to that shortly) is hired.

Like Bailey, Drew is a prospect on the rise. A 6-foot-3 point guard at Los Angeles (Calif.) Fairfax, Drew is tall, athletic and plays with a physical edge. He's actually a senior, but the plan had been for him to attend a year of prep school at Bradenton (Fla.) IMG before making his way to Tempe. As a class of 2016 kid he was lock for the next Rivals150 but now there is a good chance he ends up a class of 2015 kid and he's knocking on the door of that Rivals150 as well. There are few point guards available and he's a legitimate high major prospect so it is looking like the chances he ends up a Sun Devil are pretty slim.

Of course there is the 2015 class to consider. In the Fall the Sun Devils signed junior college shooting guard Andre Spight and Rivals150 swingman Dominic Green. Because they signed, both players would need to obtain a release from the University and it is unlikely that occurs before a new coach is announced and has a chance to meet with the players. As of Wednesday, neither player had announced their plans.

A current three-star prospect who is under heavy consideration to be raised to a four-star, Spight is one of the top shooting guards in all of juco ball. At last week's NJCAA National Tournament, Spight averaged 18.2 points per game while leading Levelland (Texas) South Plains College to a runner-up finish. Other programs can't contact him until he is granted a release (if he asks for one) but many programs have already been doing background checks on him. Green on the other hand was a lightly recruited player before ASU spotted him last summer and he immediately jumped on an offer from the Sun Devils so the type of interest he might have available is still unknown.

Of course, the biggest question that looms is who will Arizona State hire to replace Sendek? Many names have been thrown around, but sources in the college coaching ranks tell Rivals.com that Duke associate head coach Jeff Capel is the front runner for the post. Capel has experience as a head coach at Oklahoma and VCU and would certainly have the name recognition to help retain or reclaim the current recruits. But, he's a little busy with the NCAA Tournament so whether or not he will take the job could be something that takes a little while to find out.

Other names that have popped up include UC-Irvine's Russell Turner, New Mexico State's Marvin Menzies and even Memphis' Josh Pastner has been thrown around as a possibility. But for now, all signs are pointing to Capel and until he either takes or passes on the job the status of the Sun Devils remaining recruits is in limbo.