Syracuse basketball has had its 2024 recruiting class solidified for a while. Around the country, most other schools are finalizing their incoming groups. With this cycle coming to a close, the ‘Cuse got some deserved praise, despite having fewer commits than plenty of other teams on the list.
Top-ten prospect Donnie Freeman, a forward out of IMG Academy, verbally committed to the Orange over a year ago. Top-50 prospect Elijah Moore, a guard from New York, picked SU in January of 2023. Both of those players then inked their National Letters of Intent in November, making Syracuse’s two-player recruiting class official.
ESPN just released its final ranking of 2024 recruiting classes, and Syracuse earned the 22nd spot. That ranks fifth out of 17 ACC teams. Duke got the top spot, North Carolina sat in fifth, Miami was ranked ninth, Notre Dame slotted into 19th, then Syracuse at 22nd. Orange fans would also probably want to know Georgetown got ranked at 16th, which might help the Hoyas climb out of the Big East cellar that they’ve been in for a while.
Jeff Borzello, an ESPN staff writer who put the list together, specifically praised the improvement of Donnie Freeman.
“Few players have risen more over the past 12-18 months than Donovan Freeman, who is now considered one of the truly elite frontcourt players in the class. Freeman is a terrific athlete who can score in a variety of ways and contributes defensively, too.”
While the 2024 class was great for SU, 2025 might be even better. Top-25 player Sadiq White already verbally committed to the Orange. Plus, Carmelo Anthony’s son Kiyan, also a highly-touted recruit, has been projected to go to Syracuse. There’s also a ton of top-100 recruits that have been connected to the ‘Cuse in some way, shape, or form.
