Syracuse is in the thick of things for one of the 2027 class’s most polished backcourt prospects, and Devin Cleveland’s recruitment is starting to look like a full-blown heavyweight fight.
The Chicago product, a four-star guard, landed an offer from first-year Orange coach Gerry McNamara and his staff in July. A month later, Cleveland trimmed his list to seven schools: Alabama, Arkansas, Marquette, Michigan, Missouri, Syracuse and TCU.
The 6-foot-3, 175-pound guard is expected to take official visits to each of his finalists, Syracuse included, before he makes a call on where he’ll play college basketball. Based on recent interviews with recruiting analysts, Cleveland is aiming to announce his commitment toward the end of the year, or possibly in early January. Inside the Loud House has not learned of an official visit date yet, but that could be coming soon.
Cleveland’s stock is easy to understand once you dig into the scouting reports. He ranks in the top 35 nationally in his class, according to the industry-generated 247Sports Composite and Rivals Industry Ranking, and Adam Finkelstein, 247Sports and CBS Sports’ director of scouting, didn’t exactly bury the lede in his evaluation.
“Cleveland is one of the most skilled guards in the national class,” Finkelstein wrote.
That skill shows up in the numbers, too. At La Lumiere School in La Porte, Ind., which competes in the 15-team Nike Elite Youth Basketball League Scholastic, Cleveland posted 15.3 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game as a junior while helping La Lumiere go 22-5. He shot 45 percent from the field, 47 percent from 3-point range and 82 percent at the free-throw line.
Finkelstein’s breakdown leans heavily into Cleveland’s scoring package. He called him “a natural shooter with a feathery touch ...
He’s also a tough shot-taker and maker. Ultimately, he can be too willing to settle at times, but is a constant threat to make shots with deep range, on the move, or off the dribble.”
The production carried into the latest AAU season as well. Playing this spring and summer for the 17U team of St.
Louis-based Bradley Beal Elite in Nike’s EYBL league, Cleveland averaged 16.6 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. He shot 42.9 percent from the field, 29.6 percent from long range and 81.0 percent from the free-throw line.
The scouting consensus around Cleveland goes well beyond the jumper. Evaluators describe him as a scorer at all three levels, with the handle and passing ability to create for himself and others. The next step, according to those same eyes, is adding strength so he can keep sharpening his defense.
Finkelstein summed up that part of Cleveland’s game this way: “He’s crafty using fakes, footwork, varying his stride length, and able to manipulate space and angles with the ball in his hands.”
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