Chaos is beginning to take hold as elite recruits in the class of 2025 make the decisions and trim their lists, so there’s no shortage of things to discuss in this week’s rumor mill.
Today, Rivals national analysts Rob Cassidy dishes on whispers about prospects such as Meleek Thomas, Trey McKenney and No. 1 prospect and surefire NBA draftee A.J. Dybantsa, all of whom are closing in on verbal commitments.
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ARKANSAS MAKES SPLASH WITH THOMAS
Arkansas has long been among the front-runners to land five-star guard Meleek Thomas, and last week's visit seems to have solidified the Razorbacks’ position as one of, if not the, most likely landing spot for the Pittsburgh native.
Thomas recently canceled a visit to Alabama. As of now, a visit to Kansas State remains on the schedule for Oct. 26, but the future of that trip seemed a little up in the air as of Sunday afternoon. A cancellation would be extremely positive news for Arkansas fans, as K-State has the financial support and relationships in place to become a threat.
Should Thomas set foot in Manhattan as scheduled, there could be some white knuckle moments in Fayetteville. If not, it might be time for celebration in the Hawgs' recruiting office.
MICHIGAN COULD BE ON VERGE OF RECRUITING SURGE
The nature of the beast dictates that nothing is set in stone as in recruiting, but Michigan should feel extremely comfortable with where it sits in relation to Trey McKenney, who recently trimmed his list and seems to have taken a serious shine to the Wolverines. Dusty May’s program is also in play for four-star wing Winters Grady, who visited last month and is said to be particularly high on Michigan in addition to Iowa.
There are still a lot of moving parts here, but it’s starting to sound as though there’s a possibility of Michigan landing both top 50 prospects, which would erase the slow start the program got off to this cycle. Grady’s situation is a bit more unstable than that of McKenney, as Grady is high on both the Wolverines and Hawkeyes, and may still take a visit to in-state Oregon.
That said, there should be a bit of cautious optimism building in Ann Arbor about how this class may shake out.
VITAL WEEKEND ON DECK FOR BYU
Saying the upcoming weekend might be the most important basektball recruiting weekend in BYU history is certainly not a stretch. The Cougars sit in pole position with No. 1 overall prospect A.J. Dybantsa and are set to host the five-star forward for an official visit on Oct. 11.
As things stand today, Kansas State, North Carolina and Alabama feel like the biggest threats to unseat the Cougars, but the upcoming weekend is head coach Kevin Young’s chance to seal the biggest recruiting deal of his career and give the program a massive momentum boost.
Most in the know expect BYU to land Dybantsa, but this weekend is definitely a pivot point in the mega-prospect’s process and will determine how things play out. A commitment could come sooner rather than later in the wake of the trip.
