While the start of football season and conference realignment are all the rage right now, Syracuse basketball is quietly flying under the radar of priorities when it comes to their recruiting endeavors in recent weeks. While there have been no commitments or scheduling of visits, there have been prospects on campus recently, with the Orange’s annual elite camp taking place last weekend.
Players who attend the camp are invited on an individual basis, and a number received offers from the SU coaching staff after their performances at the Melo Center over the weekend according to syracuse.com’s Mike Waters. Here’s a look at a few players in the classes of 2025 and 2026 who now hold an offer from Adrian Autry.
Nigel James (115th according to 247 Sports in ’25), Keyshaun Tillery (124th in ’25), Matt Gilhool who reclassified from 2024 to 2025, Anthony Brown (2026), Prince-Alexander Moody (’26), and Neiko Mundey (’26).
Now, these are all smaller names who may not have initially been on the radar of Syracuse fans because of the nature of their not being ranked inside the top 100 prospects on 247 Sports. The Orange in the era of recruiting under Autry seem to be aiming higher than that, with a player like Donnie Freeman in the top 40 of the rankings in the class of 2024 committed to the program.
But, what this is trying to build is depth and options within the potential recruiting of the program. Syracuse has lost a lot of depth on the roster over the past handful of years with players transferring out of the program or guys leaving early for the NBA or other professional endeavors.
These offers are the Orange trying to improve their recruiting base, specifically the areas of New York City, Philadelphia, and Washington D.C., regions that have been lost a little bit over the past few seasons. For example, Syracuse has 16 offers out in the class of 2025, and seven of them are players on the East Coast, nearly half. That just shows you the SU emphasis on trying to bring in players who grow up within a decent range of the Orange’s base.
Now, just because bigger-name players like Kiyan Anthony weren’t at the Elite Camp does not mean things are trending in the wrong direction, as other high-profile camps were going on over the weekend, it just means that SU is trying to tap into a different kind of recruit, maybe someone who hasn’t fully blossomed as a player yet and there is something the Orange can tap into that others are not seeing right now.
Overall, the Orange are in a solid spot with their recruiting in future years, and with more high-name players set to join the program over the next few seasons, Adrian Autry could be coaching a lot of high-profile talent in the 315.
