Washington pulls the upset, lands five-star Isaiah Stewart
RANKINGS: 2019 Rivals150 | 2020 Rivals150 | 2019 Team Rankings
Five-star center Isaiah Stewart ended his recruitment on Sunday evening, giving his verbal commitment to the University of Washington. A giant win for the Huskies and first year head coach Mike Hopkins, Stewart’s pledge becomes one of the greater recruiting upsets found within the 2019 class.
“Coming up to see me since the ninth grade and him coming to my high school games, we have gotten really close and he is a guy that I can trust and he has given me his word,” Stewart said about his relationship with Mike Hopkins. “He wants to start his own legacy, and I feel him on that. He hasn’t had his first big recruit yet, so I could be that for them and I know the city would be crazy about that.”
In a battle with some of the top blue bloods within the sport, Stewart’s commitment is easily Mike Hopkins’ greatest recruiting win during his first two years as the Washington head coach. Selecting the Huskies over Duke, Kentucky, Michigan State and Syracuse, the relationship that Hopkins melded during his time as an assistant at Syracuse, along with Stewart’s hope to forge his own path in the Pacific Northwest, ultimately won out.
What might UW be getting with the five-star prospect? Arguably the most productive frontline player in the 2019 class and someone that can fill the stat sheet each time out. Blessed with a 7-foot-5 wingspan, an elite motor and work ethic, impeccable hands around the basket and an improved face-up game, Stewart should be in the conversation for a variety of Pac 12 preseason and postseason honors next season.
A gold medal winner on the United States under-17 team last summer, Stewart has become known as one of the most consistent competitors in America. A native of Rochester, New York that is behind his La Lumiere unit’s number-one high school ranking this winter, he has seemingly put up massive numbers on whichever platform that he has played upon. Last summer and with the Albany City Rocks team, he posted per-game averages of 18 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks.
The third commitment in the 2019 class, Stewart joins Rivals150 guard RaeQuan Battle and three-star prospect Marcus Tsohonis, along with that of Kentucky transfer guard Quade Green, to pledge to the Pac 12 program within the past several months. UW remains heavily in the mix for five-star Jaden McDaniels, a former travel teammate of Battle and Tsohonis’, who was Stewart’s USA Basketball Mini-Camp roommate in October.
