Syracuse basketball is already making moves in the 2028 class, and one of the names on the Orange radar is 6-foot-6 guard Malachi Odugbela.
The first-year staff under Gerry McNamara has been in contact with Odugbela, who has turned heads this spring and summer on the Adidas 3SSB circuit. Since the 2028 contact period opened on June 15, allowing college coaches to begin direct communication with prospects in the class, Odugbela has heard from Syracuse, Providence and Saint Louis, according to Dylan Thayer, the director of the New England Recruiting Report.
Per his Instagram page, Odugbela’s early scholarship offer list includes Providence, Marquette, Saint Louis and Manhattan. Providence will also face Syracuse in the non-conference portion of the 2026-27 season.
Odugbela is heading into his junior year at St. Andrew’s School in Barrington, R.I., the same school where former Syracuse forward Cole Swider played. Swider, as Inside the Loud House first reported last week, is with Boeheim’s Army in this summer’s The Basketball Tournament.
On the grassroots side, Odugbela is playing for the 16U team of Boston-based BABC in the Adidas 3SSB league. Syracuse’s staff has been at the 3SSB session in Bryan, Texas this weekend, which is a live period on the AAU circuit, so it would not be a surprise if the Orange got eyes on him during the NCAA evaluation window.
The production has matched the buzz. Odugbela posted two separate 22-point games this weekend, and for the current AAU season he is averaging 17.5 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.9 steals per game. In the 16U division, he sits in the top 10 in scoring.
That comes after a strong sophomore season at St. Andrew’s, where he averaged 14.3 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game, according to a post on X. He also added 0.5 steals.
Odugbela still isn’t in the 2028 national rankings, but if he keeps producing at St. Andrew’s and for BABC, he looks like a player who could climb into the top 100 overall, and possibly even higher.
Since the 2028 contact period opened in mid-June, Syracuse has reached out to a number of prospects in the class, and several have already picked up scholarship offers from McNamara and his staff.
In Other News...
Syracuse Just Hit Another Big 2027 Recruiting Moment Up Front
Syracuses 2027 recruiting board up front keeps getting more interesting, and Ian Condon is right in the middle of it. The four-star power forward has already picked up a scholarship offer from the Orange, and he has now set an official visit to campus for Sept. 1-2, a sign that the staff wants to keep pressing on a player it views as a major target in the class.
Condons profile has only grown as other programs have joined the chase, giving Syracuse plenty of competition for a prospect who has been productive in both AAU and high school settings. The Orange are also tracking other priority names in the 2027 group, so this visit matters not just as a standalone trip but as part of a broader push to build momentum early with the frontcourt board. [Read more 🡒]
Syracuse Big Man Target Is Changing The Conversation Fast
Ian Condons name is starting to carry real weight in the 2027 class, and Syracuse has reason to keep watching closely. The big man has been turning heads on the Nike EYBL circuit with Team Melo, where college coaches have had a chance to see how his skill set translates against high-level competition. Add in his work at Sidwell Friends School and a national ranking from 247Sports that already has him inside the top 100, and it is easy to see why his stock is moving.
What makes Condon especially interesting for Syracuse is not just the production, but the sense that there may be more coming. He has already put himself on the radar of multiple programs, and recent showings have only strengthened the idea that his ranking could keep climbing as evaluators get another look. For a staff tracking frontcourt options in the 2027 class, this is the kind of recruitment that can change quickly, and Condon may not stay in the same spot for long. [Read more 🡒]