Syracuse Still Has A Real Shot With Elite 2027 Forward

Syracuse women's basketball inches closer to bolstering their 2027 recruiting class as 4-star forward Marley Spiers includes the Orange in her top four, hinting at an official visit next month.

Marley Spiers has put Syracuse women’s basketball firmly in the mix.

The 6-foot-4 forward/center from Tennessee, a top-70 national prospect in the 2027 class, revealed a top four on social media that includes the Orange, Penn State, Southern California and Minnesota. Syracuse now has a real shot at landing one of the class’s more versatile frontcourt players.

Spiers recently wrapped up an official visit to Penn State, according to her Instagram page. She is expected to make an official visit to Syracuse in mid-November, though a date has not been set, a source told Inside the Loud House on Friday.

A senior at Clarksville Christian School in Clarksville, Tenn., Spiers is coming off a strong junior season. According to MaxPreps, she averaged 12.2 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.7 blocks per game in the 2025-26 campaign. She shot 61 percent from the field and 66 percent from the free-throw line.

Spiers also spent the latest AAU season with the 17U team of Newport, Ky.-based Lady Phenom United in the Adidas-sponsored 3SSB league. Lady Phenom United reached the Elite Eight of the circuit’s season-ending playoffs this past July, and Spiers posted averages of 8.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game.

Nationally, ESPN ranks Spiers No. 62 in the 2027 class. The Rivals Industry composite puts her at No. 69 overall, No. 7 at center and No. 3 in Tennessee.

Syracuse’s 2027 class already has one verbal commitment in place. Late last month, point guard Josephine Pinnock of New York City pledged to the Orange over Seton Hall, Hofstra and Stony Brook.

Pinnock, a 5-foot-10 junior at Christ the King High School in Middle Village, N.Y., averaged 19.4 points, 5.4 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game. She also earned New York State Catholic High School Athletic Association (“CHSAA”) AAA player of the year honors.

She took an official visit to Syracuse last month and had also been on campus unofficially in July, around the same time she received a scholarship offer from the Orange staff.

Syracuse is also in the hunt for Kaleena Smith, the nation’s No. 1 senior and a five-star point guard in the 2027 class. The 5-foot-6 Smith officially visited the Orange this past February.

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