Tag: Class of 2025

Penn State emerges as favorite for recent ACC decommit

Penn State could be about to add another piece to its Class of 2025.

The writing could potentially be on the wall as Penn State is hoping to add another piece to its Class of 2025. Just days after hosting one potential safety in the recruiting class, that same player has backed off his commitment to an ACC school. Now, Penn State appears to be in a good position on the recruiting trail.

Josh Johnson, a three-star safety from Ironton, Ohio, announced on social media he has decommited from Louisville. The announcement comes after Johnson took an unofficial visit to Penn State this past weekend for the UCLA game.

Johnson previously committed to Louisville in June. Ironically, he committed to Louisville a week after an official visit to Penn State. Johnson is certainly very familiar with Penn State. With his trip this past weekend, Johnson has taken three trips to Happy Valley in the calendar year, and he was an unofficial visitor last November as well.

https://twitter.com/Josh_Makai9/status/1844041812522209385

The decommitment form Louisville by Johnson also comes as the Cardinals have dropped two straight games to Notre Dame and SMU. Penn State will look to keep its undefeated record going this weekend with a tough road game at USC. The Nittany Lions have climbed into the top-five of the national polls after starting the season 5-0.

Johnson previously committed to Louisville in June. Ironically, he committed to Louisville a week after an official visit to Penn State. Johnson is certainly very familiar with Penn State. With his trip this past weekend, Johnson has taken three trips to Happy Valley in the calendar year, and he was an unofficial visitor last November as well.

Penn State’s Class of 2025 currently ranks no. 14 in the 247Sports composite rankings. The Nittany Lions have the fourth-highest ranked recruiting class in the Big Ten.

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Indiana coach Mike Woodson visiting one of UNC’s top targets

Braylon Mullins, a UNC basketball recruiting target and one of the Class of 2025’s top players, is getting a timely visit from one of his three finalists.

The North Carolina Tar Heels are extremely close to landing their first 5-star basketball recruit in the Class of 2025, with shooting guard Braylon Mullins naming UNC one of his three finalists.

Mullins is deciding between North Carolina, back-to-back National Champion UConn, and Indiana, which has five NCAA Titles under its name. As you can imagine, each program is throwing everything it has in trying to land the talented guard.

Today, it’s Indiana’s turn to try its hand at landing Mullins, with head coach Mike Woodson visiting the in-state guard.

The visit is key as it’s likely the last for Mullins as he mulls a decision soon via Peegs.com:

There is a strong chance Indiana’s Tuesday visit is the final in-home visit for Mullins. He plans to give himself some time to take a breath, think things over, talk things over with his family and then figure out his decision. He would like to have a decision made in October.

If the Hoosiers are successful, Mullins would be their second Class of 2025 commitment behind Trent Sisley.

With RJ Davis exhausting his eligibility after this coming season, plus possibly the Ian Jackson-Drake Powell duo leaving for the NBA, North Carolina’s need to land Mullins is paramount. Seth Trimble will likely return, but Elliot Cadeau has also expressed interest in turning pro early.

If the Tar Heels are able to add Mullins, they’d be getting an extreme scoring punch. Mullins averaged 25 points per game as a junior for Greenfield-Central High School last season, his highest season career average, leading his team to a state championship appearance.

With Mullins previously citing he wants to make a decision this month, let’s hope that decision in UNC.

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Wisconsin basketball top class of 2025 target commits to Notre Dame

Another recruiting loss for Greg Gard and company

Wisconsin basketball top class of 2025 target Ryder Frost committed to Notre Dame on Friday.

The top-100 recruit chose the Fighting Irish over other finalists Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa, Virginia Tech and Syracuse.

Related: Big Ten basketball teams ranked by returning production entering 2024-25 season

247Sports currently rank Frost as the No. 85 overall player in the class of 2025, No. 17 small forward and No. 3 recruit from his home state of New Hampshire.

The four-star small forward’s commitment decision comes less than two weeks after he officially visited Wisconsin during the football program’s home game against Alabama. He is the second of the Badgers’ top 2025 targets to commit elsewhere recently, joining in-state four-star SG Amari Allen.

Wisconsin currently has two players committed to its class of 2025: four-star shooting guard Zach Kinziger and three-star center Will Garlock. Greg Gard and his staff are still in pursuit of several high-profile targets in the class, headlined by top-30 shooting guard Davion Hannah.

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Big class of 2025 basketball recruit to visit UNC this weekend

Can the UNC basketball program secure a commitment from one of the Class of 2025’s top in-state players this weekend?

The North Carolina Tar Heels are busy preparing for their upcoming basketball season, but they’re equally as busy on the recruiting trial.

UNC hosted AJ Dybantsa, the Class of 2025’s top-ranked player, last weekend. North Carolina is competing for Dybantsa’s commitment with six other schools, with hopes that the weekend visit was enough to influence Dybantsa’s thought.

North Carolina has its eye on 10 other Class of 2025 recruits – with one of those recruits coming to Chapel Hill very soon.

Isaiah Denis, a 4-star combo guard from Davidson Day School who is the second-ranked player in North Carolina, will be visiting the Tar Heels this weekend.

UNC will be Denis’ second of five scheduled visits in his recruiting process. Denis previously visited Ohio State on Sept. 7, then will be going to Wake Forest, Tennessee and Kansas in October.

The advantage of Denis visiting North Carolina early: Hubert Davis and crew are one of the first coaching staffs that’ll get to make a solid impression on him.

Looking ahead at the Tar Heels’ 2025-2026 roster, Denis is a particular need. UNC will say goodbye to reigning ACC Player of the Year RJ Davis, who runs out of eligibility. Drake Powell and Ian Jackson are also being billed as one-and-dones, so there’s three vacancies North Carolina needs to fill.

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UNC football commit runs for nearly 200 yards in blowout victory Friday

Demon June will don Carolina Blue next year. The in-state running back enjoyed a big game Friday night.

If there’s one position the North Carolina Tar Heels consistently churn out talent at, it’s running back.

That talent is highlighted this year by Omarion Hampton, undoubtedly UNC’s best player and a future first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. North Carolina also has USC transfer Darwin Barlow and breakout freshman Davion Gause in its running back room.

There’s also going to be additional talent joining the Tar Heels next fall: in-state running back Demon June, who has the Jacksonville High School Cardinals off to a 3-0 start.

College football presents a significantly tougher challenge than high school ball, but if June’s latest outing has a say in who starts for UNC next year, he might have an early leg up.

In Jacksonville’s 53-20 victory on Friday night, June rushed for 196 yards and three touchdowns.

June was one of North Carolina’s more recent commitments, as he chose to play his college ball at Chapel Hill in August. He’s part of a 14-commit class headlined by Bryce Baker, who is widely expected to be the Tar Heels’ future starting quarterback.

As the season progresses for June, expect more big games like this from him. Will June be able to deliver signature performances once he’s playing inside Kenan Stadium?

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Penn State loses ’25 commitment to Colorado

Penn State was unable to hold on to a commitment from this Class of 2025 cornerback.

When it comes to college football recruiting, nothing is a done deal until a player signs their letter of intent and enrolls in classes. Flipping a commitment from one school to another is part of the process and Penn State has been on both sides of that game in the Class of 2025. On Monday, it was on the side you would rather not be on.

Safety Antonio Branch Jr., a three-star recruit from Miami, Florida, announced he flipped his commitment from Penn State to Colorado. The flip comes following an official visit to Colorado over the weekend, which was probably highlighted by Colorado’s wild come-from-behind overtime victory over Baylor.

http://twitter.com/3gumpp/status/1838254574794088629

But so was the thought of playing for one of the NFL’s all-time best cornerbacks, Colorado head coach Deion Sanders.

“It felt like home to me,” Branch said according to 247Sports. “Why not get coached by the best to do it?”

It is true that James Franklin is not one of the NFL’s 100th anniversary all-time team players or on the NFL’s 1990s All-Decade Team, although it should be pointed out the Nittany Lions have developed a solid track record of producing NFL draft picks in the secondary in recent years. But this is not our decision to make!

Branch committed to Penn State on June 19 but took an official visit to Colorado just a couple of weeks after being offered by the program on Sept. 5.

It may be worth just keeping tabs on Branch’s recruitment moving forward as the future of Sanders in Boulder, Colorado may still be uncertain for a few different reasons.

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Wisconsin top class of 2025 running back target commits to ACC power

Wisconsin top class of 2025 running back target commits to ACC power

Wisconsin football top-ranked class of 2025 running back target Byron Louis committed to Florida State on Saturday.

Louis elected to offer his pledge to the in-state Seminoles over Wisconsin, Miami and Georgia. His decision will officially end Luke Fickell’s hopes of securing a top-tier running back in the class of 2025.

While the 5-foot-11, 200-pound running back did take visits to all four schools this summer, On3’s recruiting prediction machine had given the Seminoles a 91.7% to win the recruiting battle before landing Louis.

The American Heritage High School attendee is currently ranked as Rivals’ No. 132 player in the class of 2025, No. 8 running back and No. 27 recruit from the state of Florida. 247Sports, meanwhile, pegs Louis as the No. 221 player in the class of 2025, No. 17 at his position and No. 35 prospect from Florida.

Louis’ progression at American Heritage was monumental. After appearing in six varsity games and tallied 186 rushing yards as a freshman, Louis carried 215 times for nearly 1,700 yards on the ground and 27 rushing touchdowns from 2022-2023.

247Sports director of scouting Andrew Ivins projects Louis as a potential multi-year contributor at the Power Four level.

It appears as if Louis’ Fort Lauderdale roots tipped the scales for his FSU commitment. Despite the loss, Rivals still considers Wisconsin’s 2025 recruiting class No. 18 in the nation with 22 total commitments.

Wisconsin top class of 2025 LB commit shines for La Cueva High School

Wisconsin top class of 2025 LB commit shines for La Cueva High School

Wisconsin class of 2025 linebacker commit Mason Posa dominated for La Cueva High School on Friday night.

The four-star prospect recorded seven tackles, two sacks and one blocked kick for the Bears in Albuquerque, New Mexico to kick-start the weekend. Posa also tallied nine pressures and two PBUs on Friday to help his crew secure a 45-13 victory, per 247Sports’ Nick Osen.

Posa is one of two four-star commits on the defensive side of the football in Wisconsin’s class of 2025, alongside cornerback Jaimier Scott. The 6-foot-3, 210-pound linebacker committed to Wisconsin on June 13, 2024.

247Sports considers the future Badger the No. 155 overall recruit, No. 18 linebacker and No. 1 prospect from New Mexico for the class of 2025. He was also listed on the outlet’s ‘Freak List’ in August, which features college football’s 50 ‘freakiest’ high school recruits for the class of 2025.

Posa’s instincts are undeniable. As a junior, he notched 99 tackles, 14 TFLs, seven sacks, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, and an interception across 10 contests for La Cueva.

It appears he hasn’t lost a beat on the turf. He projects to immediately impact UW’s linebacker room when he arrives to campus in the summer of 2025.

AJ Dybantsa visit includes picture alongside an all-time UNC basketball great

Armando Bacot did his part on Saturday to help land an AJ Dybantsa commitment.

This weekend is a super-important one for the North Carolina Tar Heels’ men’s basketball program, as they host the Class of 2025’s top-ranked recruit in AJ Dybantsa.

UNC already has 14 offers extended to Class of 2025 recruits, including eight 5-stars. We’ve seen a couple other high-profile recruits commit already, most notably former North Carolina target Jasper Johnson going to Kentucky, but the Tar Heels have yet to land anyone.

As you can imagine, UNC isn’t the only school after Dybantsa. Alabama, Auburn, Baylor, BYU, Kansas and Kansas State are all also vying for Dybantsa’s attention.

If North Carolina wants to truly capture Dybantsa’s attention, it’ll have to pull out the biggest stops.

One of those stops includes a picture earlier Saturday with Armando Bacot, who is the Tar Heels’ all-time leader in rebounds and double-doubles. Bacot screams everything it means to be a Tar Heel, playing in Chapel from 2020-2024 and nearly helping UNC capture a seventh NCAA Championship in 2022.

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Bacot signed an Exhibit-10 contract with the Memphis Grizzlies earlier this month, meaning he can either play in the NBA or in the G-League.

Dybantsa currently plays his high school ball at Utah Prep. Will Saturday’s visit be enough to convince him to play his college ball in Chapel Hill?

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Badgers class of 2025 commit breaks Wisconsin all-time career tackles record

Badgers class of 2025 commit breaks Wisconsin all-time career tackles record

Wisconsin football class of 2025 commit Cooper Catalano became Wisconsin’s all-time career tackles leader on Friday.

With 463 career tackles in over three years at Germantown High School in Germantown, Wisconsin, Catalano stands alone atop the list. His record-breaking moment transpired in the third quarter of Germantown’s game against Brookfield East.

Catalano was one of the first players to pledge his commitment to Luke Fickell’s program for the class of 2025 on Nov. 28, 2023.

247Sports considers Catalano the No. 872 overall recruit, No. 88 linebacker and No. 7 recruit from the state of Wisconsin for the class of 2025. He earned offers from the likes of Illinois, Iowa State, Kansas, and Michigan State before ultimately deciding to join the Badgers.

Four other class of 2025 linebackers have committed to Wisconsin as well. Those are four-star Mason Posa, three-star Samuel Lateju and three-star Brenden Anes.