Alright guys, here is the Cal hoops recruiting breakdown heading into July. @BearBassics, @petalumabear, and @philbert0 collectively asked for a comprehensive breakdown of the 2022 class and who the realistic targets are. So that pretty much means I'll touch all the bases that I can.
If I may quickly touch on the 2023 class, Cal has offered just two players so far in 5-star power forward Jalen Lewis from Bishop O'Dowd and 4-star point guard Elmarko Jackson out of Richland, PA. Jackson was offered a while back and after being not rated for quite a while, he's now a 4-star recruit, so his stock is on the rise. It's honestly too early to really say where 2023 guys are leaning, though as I said earlier this month, the competition for Lewis in particular is heating up.
In the 2022 class, we've seen Cal offer a ton of power forwards/centers lately: 4-star French power forward Yohan Traore out of Prolific Prep in Napa; power forward Reed Bailey from Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire; 4-star center Jaxon Kohler from American Fork High School in American Fork, Utah; center Duke Brennan from Hillcrest Prep in Gilbert, Arizona; 3-star power forward Jeremiah Nyarko from St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, California; and 4-star center Kel'el Ware out of North Little Rock High School in North Little Rock, Arkansas.
Out of that batch, the ones that seem to have the most potential to come to Cal are Jeremiah Nyarko, Yohan Traore, and Reed Bailey. Nyarko because California is the only place he's lived outside of the United States and he really likes it. He basically said that ideally, he'd commit to a California school. That's obviously a plus for Cal. As for Traore, he's a Prolific Prep kid and Cal already has one on the roster in Kuany Kuany. Plus, Cal does have a nice mix of international players. As for Bailey, the fact that Joel Brown also played at Brewster Academy is a plus and that could be a connection that Cal can leverage as well. The other guys, I don't want to say their odds aren't as high, but on the surface, Cal doesn't appear to have as strong of a pull to them as they do to the other guys.
At the small forward position, Cal recently offered Demarion Watson-Saulsberry out of Minneapolis and they also offered another Minneapolis kid 4-star small forward Prince Aligbe like over a year ago or so. So those are a couple of small forwards to keep an eye on in the Twin Cities area. There's also of course 4-star small forward Jordan Walsh, who added Cal to his top ten. However, since announcing that top ten, he's landed additional offers that he says he's receptive towards. So his top ten isn't really a top ten. I'm not feeling super confident about Walsh, but adding Cal to his top ten, even if it's no longer a top ten, is still worth noting.
As for point guard, Cal is really hoping to land 4-star Aidan Mahaney, but it's no sure thing thanks to the presence of Stanford and Saint Mary's. I don't think it's fair to say Mahaney isn't a realistic get. He absolutely is as Cal has been on him harder than any other recruit in this class. He's been their top target. If they can't get him, 3-star point guard Milos Uzan is the number two target at that spot. He recently said Cal is on him harder than any other school, so Cal is definitely showing him the love, too. 3-star point guard Christian Watson is another possibility as well, though he isn't as high of a priority.
There's other guys with offers as well like 4-star point guard Richard Isaacs out of Prolific Prep, 5-star power forward Kijani Wright, 5-star shooting guard Zion Cruz, and 5-star shooting guard Keyonte George, though they seem like far reaches right now.
The best that Cal can hope for is that they land Aidan Mahaney at point guard and any one of the other power forwards/centers I mentioned who I felt they had their best odds with: Nyarko, Traore, and Bailey. That's really the goal right now. Get Mahaney and pair him with a talented power forward or center. If there's room for a third player in the 2022 class, then small forward seems to be the goal there. I do get the sense they are anticipating three spots to be open in 2022, which is why they're targeting all three positions at the moment.
Let me know if you guys have any more questions!
If I may quickly touch on the 2023 class, Cal has offered just two players so far in 5-star power forward Jalen Lewis from Bishop O'Dowd and 4-star point guard Elmarko Jackson out of Richland, PA. Jackson was offered a while back and after being not rated for quite a while, he's now a 4-star recruit, so his stock is on the rise. It's honestly too early to really say where 2023 guys are leaning, though as I said earlier this month, the competition for Lewis in particular is heating up.
In the 2022 class, we've seen Cal offer a ton of power forwards/centers lately: 4-star French power forward Yohan Traore out of Prolific Prep in Napa; power forward Reed Bailey from Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire; 4-star center Jaxon Kohler from American Fork High School in American Fork, Utah; center Duke Brennan from Hillcrest Prep in Gilbert, Arizona; 3-star power forward Jeremiah Nyarko from St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, California; and 4-star center Kel'el Ware out of North Little Rock High School in North Little Rock, Arkansas.
Out of that batch, the ones that seem to have the most potential to come to Cal are Jeremiah Nyarko, Yohan Traore, and Reed Bailey. Nyarko because California is the only place he's lived outside of the United States and he really likes it. He basically said that ideally, he'd commit to a California school. That's obviously a plus for Cal. As for Traore, he's a Prolific Prep kid and Cal already has one on the roster in Kuany Kuany. Plus, Cal does have a nice mix of international players. As for Bailey, the fact that Joel Brown also played at Brewster Academy is a plus and that could be a connection that Cal can leverage as well. The other guys, I don't want to say their odds aren't as high, but on the surface, Cal doesn't appear to have as strong of a pull to them as they do to the other guys.
At the small forward position, Cal recently offered Demarion Watson-Saulsberry out of Minneapolis and they also offered another Minneapolis kid 4-star small forward Prince Aligbe like over a year ago or so. So those are a couple of small forwards to keep an eye on in the Twin Cities area. There's also of course 4-star small forward Jordan Walsh, who added Cal to his top ten. However, since announcing that top ten, he's landed additional offers that he says he's receptive towards. So his top ten isn't really a top ten. I'm not feeling super confident about Walsh, but adding Cal to his top ten, even if it's no longer a top ten, is still worth noting.
As for point guard, Cal is really hoping to land 4-star Aidan Mahaney, but it's no sure thing thanks to the presence of Stanford and Saint Mary's. I don't think it's fair to say Mahaney isn't a realistic get. He absolutely is as Cal has been on him harder than any other recruit in this class. He's been their top target. If they can't get him, 3-star point guard Milos Uzan is the number two target at that spot. He recently said Cal is on him harder than any other school, so Cal is definitely showing him the love, too. 3-star point guard Christian Watson is another possibility as well, though he isn't as high of a priority.
There's other guys with offers as well like 4-star point guard Richard Isaacs out of Prolific Prep, 5-star power forward Kijani Wright, 5-star shooting guard Zion Cruz, and 5-star shooting guard Keyonte George, though they seem like far reaches right now.
The best that Cal can hope for is that they land Aidan Mahaney at point guard and any one of the other power forwards/centers I mentioned who I felt they had their best odds with: Nyarko, Traore, and Bailey. That's really the goal right now. Get Mahaney and pair him with a talented power forward or center. If there's room for a third player in the 2022 class, then small forward seems to be the goal there. I do get the sense they are anticipating three spots to be open in 2022, which is why they're targeting all three positions at the moment.
Let me know if you guys have any more questions!
