RANKINGS: 2019 Rivals150 | 2020 Rivals150 | 2019 Team Rankings
Ben Carlson is quickly becoming one of the more highly recruited big men in the 2020 class nationally. School all over the country have jumped into the mix for the four-star prospect out of Minnesota.
Last weekend, Carlson took visits to Michigan and Ohio State. This weekend, he’ll stop by Kansas State for a visit to the campus and to see his sister who plays volleyball for the Wildcats. He’s also been to Creighton, Iowa State and Nebraska recently. Colorado, Davidson, Iowa, Northwestern, Stanford, Wake Forest and Wisconsin are some of the other schools involved in his recruitment.
IN HIS OWN WORDS
Carlson talked about some of his recent visits and his thoughts on Minnesota’s program.
Kansas State: “They probably text me every other day. They recruit me really hard. I think I saw a stat that they return the most points of any team in the country this year, so they are going to be good. They got a good group of older guys.”
Michigan: “They showed me around and it was really nice. They had a really good team last year and made it to the championship game. We went to the football game and got to see that atmosphere, so that was cool.”
Minnesota: “They’ve been in here a few times and text me a lot. I think they are turning around the program. They started off well last year, but then their guys got hurt. They’ll be better this year with all their guys back.”
Nebraska: “They had a good year last year, and they should be better this year. They are flying under the radar a little bit.”
Ohio State: “It was good. I liked it a lot. They have a great coaching staff. They did well their first year, and they’ll probably do even better this year. It was good to get on campus to see all the facilities. It’s a national brand.”
RIVALS' REACTION
Carlson sounds like a kid who is still trying to sort through the process. It would be a pretty big surprise to see him choose a school before next summer. Minnesota is clearly making him a priority as a talented local recruit and he seems to be buying into Richard Pitino’s program. The trips to Michigan and Ohio State also impressed him. Coming off a great season with a built-in advantage of having his sister on campus already, it would be wise not to count Bruce Weber and the Kansas State Wildcats. At this point though, there is a long ways to go in his recruitment.