Tag: Class of 2026 Recruiting

Duke basketball offers four-star 2026 forward Miikka Muurinen

Duke basketball extended an offer to fast-rising 2026 prospect Miikka Muurinen.

2026 feels like the distant future, but considering that it’ll be 2025 on the calendar once Duke basketball reaches the ACC portion of its schedule this season, the future will be here before we know it.

That said, Jon Scheyer and the Blue Devils will likely focus considerable recruiting resources on the Class of 2026, and there are some terrific prospects for them to choose from. One of them, power forward Miikka Muurinen, received an offer from Duke over the weekend, according to 247Sports’ Travis Branham.

Muurinen, who plays for Compass Prep in Arizona, is originally from Finland. He stands 6-foot-10 and currently ranks as 247Sports’ 44th-ranked player in the Class of 2026, but many recruiting insiders expect him to receive a boost on all recruiting services. Branham named Muurinen the ‘biggest riser’ from Peach Jam, where he averaged 18 points and four rebounds per game for Bradley Beal’s Elite 16U squad.

He shot 62 percent from the field and 50 percent from 3-point range (14-for-28 over six games) as he helped his team win an EYBL championship.

“Muurinen was oozing with talent and upside and looked every bit like a top-10 recruit in the 2026 class,” Branham wrote.

With his stock rising, expect Muurinen’s recruitment to reach astronomical heights in the coming months. Kentucky has also offered him thanks to his Peach Jam performance. His mother played college basketball for the University of North Carolina, so it shouldn’t come as a shock if UNC is a significant factor in this recruitment in the future.

Duke basketball extends offer to top-ranked Class of 2026 prospect

Brandon McCoy, a five-star prospect and one of the top-ranked players in the Class of 2026, announced that Duke offered him on Monday.

Duke basketball, as of Monday, officially entered the sweepstakes for the best player in the Class of 2026.

Brandon McCoy Jr., a 6-foot-4 point guard from St. John Bosco in California, announced on social media that the Blue Devils extended him an offer.

“Excited to receive an offer from Duke University,” McCoy wrote on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. ” Thank you Coach Scheyer!”

McCoy, a five-star player, currently sits atop the 247Sports Composite Rankings as the best player in the class. Duke has a strong history of landing some of the best recruits in the country, most notably [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag], the top-ranked player in the Class of 2024 who will make his way to Durham this fall.

McCoy led his team with 18.6 points per game last season, according to MaxPreps, and he finished his sophomore season with a team-high 8.0 rebounds and 2.4 assists. The Braves finished with a 28-7 record.

McCoy has also received offers from UCLA, Alabama, Arizona, Rutgers, Michigan, and Tennessee, among other programs.

Duke football extends offer to 2026 IMG Academy defensive lineman

Preston Carey, a Class of 2026 DL from the prestigious IMG Academy, announced that the Blue Devils extended him an offer on Tuesday night.

First-year Duke head coach [autotag]Manny Diaz[/autotag] and his staff are hot on the recruiting trail, and they aren’t only looking at the 2024 and 2025 seasons.

Preston Carey, a defensive lineman from the Class of 2026, announced through social media on Tuesday night that he received an offer from the Blue Devils.

Carey wrote that he spoke with Diaz and Duke defensive coordinator Jonathan Patke, who also coaches the Blue Devils’ linebackers.

According to On3’s Industry Ranking, Carey is a four-star prospect and the 29th-best defensive lineman in the class. Rivals is the highest individual recruiting site on Carey’s talent, ranking him as the sixth-best defensive lineman and the 62nd overall player in the Class of 2026.

Duke will have its work cut out if it wants to land Carey. He referred to the Blue Devils as his 31st offer for a full scholarship on Tuesday night, and heavyweight programs like Penn State, Michigan, Ohio State, Florida State, LSU, and Georgia all sit in his inbox.

Diaz and his coaching staff have put in work to put together a 2024 team through the transfer portal and the recruiting trail this offseason. The Blue Devils got a commitment from offensive tackle Bruno Fina from UCLA, their third offensive tackle commitment, on Monday.

Duke joins the sweepstakes for 2026 cornerback Justin Hopkins

The Blue Devils offered 2026 corner Justin Hopkins last week, joining names like Auburn, Tennessee, and Ole Miss in his recruiting list.

The Duke football team officially entered the Justin Hopkins sweepstakes last week.

According to Hopkins’ social media, the Blue Devils extended him an offer. Duke and first-year head coach Manny Diaz join Auburn, Tennessee, Ole Miss, Indiana, and Purdue on the list of schools to already extend a scholarship toward the Class of 2026 cornerback.

Hopkins hails from Nashville, Tennessee, and he plays high school ball for The Ensworth School. He’s about six feet tall and weighs 170 pounds.

The Blue Devils clearly have at least one eye on the recruiting trail right now, as the team also extended an offer to in-state edge rusher Sherrod Henderson from the Class of 2025 on Monday.

The Blue Devils, understandably, don’t yet have a commitment from the 2026 recruiting class.