Rivals’ latest 2027 rankings dropped Monday, and Syracuse basketball’s recruiting board came out looking loaded.
More than a dozen Orange targets showed up in the updated top 150, with eight sitting inside the top 50, six in the top 100 and two more cracking the top 150. For first-year head coach Gerry McNamara and his staff, it’s another sign that the new regime is chasing elite talent early and often.
The highest-rated Syracuse target in the group is King Gibson, the guard at Spire Academy in Geneva, Ohio. Rivals slotted him at No. 4 overall, gave him four stars and ranked him as the No. 1 combo guard in the class.
Right behind him is Long Island Lutheran wing/small forward Jordan Smith, who came in at No. 8 overall, also with four stars, and as the No. 2 small forward.
Syracuse also has offers out to several other prospects near the top of the board. Nasir Anderson, a point guard at Prolific Prep in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., landed at No. 9 overall and No. 3 among point guards. His Prolific Prep teammate, center Lewis Uvwo, checked in at No. 10 overall and No. 1 at center.
The Orange offer list continues with Zion Green, a small forward/power forward at AZ Compass Prep School in Chandler, Ariz., who is ranked No. 23 overall and No. 6 at small forward. Ahmed Nur, a power forward/center at CIA Bella Vista in Phoenix, is No. 27 overall and No. 5 at power forward. Caleb Ourigou, a center at Overtime Elite in Atlanta, is No. 34 overall and No. 5 at center.
Rounding out the top 50 Syracuse targets is RJ Moore, a shooting guard at Ambassador Christian School in Huntersville, N.C. Rivals placed him at No. 45 overall and No. 10 at shooting guard.
Just outside that group, Carson Crawford, a small forward at Fleming Island High School in Fleming Island, Fla., landed at No. 51 overall and No. 13 at small forward.
The list also includes a few prospects who currently have Syracuse interest rather than an offer. Declan Griffiths, a wing/small forward at St.
Thomas More School in Oakdale, Conn., is No. 52 overall and No. 14 at small forward. Markus Kerr, a wing/small forward at Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, N.H., is No. 66 overall and No. 20 at small forward.
Munir Greig, a wing at Coronado High School in Henderson, Nev., is No. 77 overall and No. 16 at shooting guard.
Another Orange offer belongs to J'Lon Lyons, a point guard at Clinton Grace Christian School in Clinton, Md. Rivals has him at No. 55 overall and No. 14 at point guard.
The updated rankings make one thing clear: Syracuse is staying active with a deep 2027 pool, and plenty of the names on its board are already sitting high in the national conversation.
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Still, the same evaluation leaves the more important Syracuse question hanging in the air: whether the pieces fit cleanly enough on the other end to make the roster more than just intriguing on paper. The Athletic pointed to concerns about ball-handling, shooting and overall cohesion, even as the Orange added Siena transfer Gavin Doty as their only top-100 portal addition in the grading. For a program trying to reset under McNamara, the size is a start, but the real test will be whether that structure translates into a lineup that makes sense once the games begin. [Read more 🡒]
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The list also stretches beyond 2028, with Syracuse already making at least one offer in the 2029 class as well. For a program trying to keep pace in elite recruiting circles, that kind of early positioning matters, even if the full board is still taking shape and the next big question is which of those early targets will become real Orange priorities down the line. [Read more 🡒]