With just a few months left until the November signing period is set to begin, there’s no better time to take a snapshot of the 2024 recruiting cycle so far. Today, Rivals recruiting director Rob Cassidy zooms out and explores how things are shaping up in the form of some early-cycle superlatives. Below, he discusses surprise commitments, most crucial visits, biggest steals and more.
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MOST SURPRISING TEAM: Rutgers
A year ago, you could have convinced most logical people that Rutgers would land a single five-star. Dylan Harper has long looked like a Scarlet Knights lean, after all, and most still expect him to follow his brother’s footsteps to Piscataway. The fact that it was another five-star, No. 3 overall recruit Ace Bailey, that committed to Rutgers first, however, created shockwaves.
Few saw Bailey’s sudden Jan. 15 announcement coming, and even fewer knew the 6-foot-10 NBA prospect would be choosing Rutgers. Alas, here we are, just a few months before the Early Signing Period with Steve Pikiell’s underdogs sitting near the top of the class rankings. Should Rutgers land Harper as expected, its five-member class will include a pair of top-five prospects and four players ranked inside the Rivals150. The haul is setting up to be the best in program history - by far.
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MOST SURPRISING COMMITMENT: Flory Bidunga to Kansas
Every time the recruiting industry thought it had a read on how Flory Bidunga’s recruitment might end, a twist appeared. The five-star center looked like a Kansas lean for a month or so this spring. Then, Duke appeared and seemed to pull even with the Jayhawks with surprising quickness. The week of Bidunga’s commitment, Auburn emerged and felt extremely confident about where it stood less than 48 hours before the public announcement. Ultimately, betting against Bill Self was - as it has been so many times - a very bad decision. The Jayhawks landed Bidunga on Aug. 13, leaving Auburn fans slack-jawed and Duke fans frustrated. True surprises are rare in modern recruiting because college coaches love to gossip, so Bidunga’s swerve was a refreshing bit of drama … especially for KU fans.
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BIGGEST EARLY-CYCLE STEAL: Rob Wright to Baylor
Five-star point guard Rob Wright committed to Baylor in September of 2022 and was a four-star prospect ranked well outside the top 25 when he did so. He had his share of major college options at the time of his announcement, sure, but it seems obvious that his offer list would be a lot more crowded had Wright waited to pull the trigger.
The Bears identified the talented guard as a priority target early in the process and closed quickly thereafter, beating the rush that may have eventually arrived this year, when Wright proved his somewhat limited size is a non-factor. These days, Wright carries a five-star ranking and is sitting on the No. 20 line in the Rivals150 as one of the most proven and complete point guards in the class.
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MUST-WIN BATTLE: Duke’s pursuit of Cooper Flagg
Duke hasn’t exactly made a habit of swinging and missing on top prospects in recent years, but it has already done so once this cycle, as Flory Bidunga chose Kansas over the Blue Devils. Duke also feels set to miss on Dylan Harper, whom it recruited heavily, in the coming month. That pain will be numbed quickly, however, if head coach Jon Scheyer is able to close the deal on No. 1 overall prospect Cooper Flagg, the five-star unicorn for whom the Blue Devils have led for nearly a year.
Flagg has been on campus in Durham multiple times already and will return for an official visit this fall. Duke remains the smart bet to land the Montverde Academy star, but the fact that he also plans to visit heavy hitters Kansas and UConn should create a few more tense moments for Scheyer and company this fall. The Blue Devils simply can’t afford to miss here, as the 2024 cycle will begin to look like a major step back from recent years if they do.
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MOST IMPORTANT UPCOMING VISIT: Liam McNeeley’s trip to Indiana
Indiana head coach Mike Woodson has been linked to a number of high-profile prospects this cycle. He’s yet to land one, but five-star Liam McNeeley certainly feels like a logical and possible first domino. What happens on that front seems likely to hinge on how things go on McNeeley’s second official to Indiana, which is scheduled for Sept. 8.
What has long looked to be a Texas-versus-Indiana battle now has other combatants, as the five-star forward will also visit Kansas and Texas this fall. Whatever the case, Woodson has poured a ton of resources into McNeeley, so it would be crushing to lose the talented prospect now. Sept. 8 has become an absolutely crucial date for the Hoosiers, who are looking to avoid being slapped with the label of “perpetual bridesmaid” for the 2024 cycle.
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MOST METEORIC RISE: V.J. Edgecombe
Last year at this time, V.J. Edgecombe had just started making a name for himself. He sat at the back end of the Rivals150 and was mulling offers from Mississippi State, LSU and Miami. Fast forward a year, and the Long Island Lutheran standout is a lock to add a fifth star in the next rankings update and looks destined to flirt with the top five. His recruitment is a bit more crowded as well.
Alabama, Duke, Florida State, Michigan and Florida are all in the mix and will get Edgecombe on campus for fall visits. The NBA G League is also an option, as are UConn and Miami. The situation is a far cry from where Edgecombe was a year ago at this time.
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MOST UNIQUE ROAD TO COLLEGE: Bryson Tucker
There simply aren’t a lot of five-stars in recent history that don’t play AAU, but Bryson Tucker stands as a rare exception. It certainly hasn't hampered the 6-foot-7 forward much however, as he sits at No. 11 in the Rivals150 and carries a five-star ranking. The no-grassroots wrinkle is interesting, however. So is the fact that Tucker abruptly parted ways with IMG Academy, for whom he played a chunk of last season, in the midst of a junior campaign that saw him impress nearly every time he took the floor.
Tucker sort of vanished from the scene for a bit following his transfer out of IMG, but he managed to impress at a few one-off camps before landing at Virginia’s Bishop O'Connell for his upcoming senior season. Michigan State has long been thought to be among the frontrunners to land Tucker, but schools such as Duke, Louisville and Villanova are also in the mix.
