Looks like we signed our first recruit of the 2026 cycle - and some on this board will be pleased to see that he is from Northern California!
https://x.com/brayde_3/status/1932180590499111324?s=46&t=PXTiTKoGV0aVfWCl4sMW5Q
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Good to get a local kid. Iām not one who thinks that SCU should prioritize local over ābest,ā but having Bay Area players helps bring in a different level of attention thatās positive.
The real point of interest, in my opinion, is that this is a pretty early commitment by SCUās standards. Longcor committed last June, so itās not crazy early. But in this era of scouring for transfers over frosh, earlier commitments (potentially) speak to a different level of confidence in a young playerās trajectory. And at 6ā4" with a handle, and probably still growing a little, he certainly fits the Sendek prototype.
Welcome!
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Iām not sure if the data is available, but what do you think the percentage of early commits end up decommitting? I often see it publicized when it happens as it can be newsworthy for highly-ranked prospects, but I really donāt have any way to gauge how frequently it happens.
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Pretty low overall, I think. Itās not crazy, and SCU has had at least a couple through the years. Max Besselink, Theirry Darlan, and that New Zealander who never even made it to campus come to mindāthough none was a standard frosh recruit.
I am sure that the infusion of money has made it more common, but I still think true frosh recruits are the most stable. Basically you only lose them if thereās a serious life change or they blow up in the summer to such a degree where Kentucky coaches are calling them. Short of that, I think a commitment like this is still pretty reliable.
A player like Noah Badibanga is more of a flight risk, in my opinion, since heās coming across the globe, dealing with culture and language shock, and is used to being a pro or semi-pro without student obligations. Plus thereās a pro team waiting for him at basically any point, so he has to be sold on SCU being able to launch him in a meaningful way and may depart if thatās in question (a la Willie Caruso).
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I recall watching with ebullient glee as Keating signed McCarthur (De La Salle, East Bay Player of the Year), Rob Garrett (Sac. HS, with some high major interest) and Yannick Atanga (SoCal boarding school), since I thought we were getting back to some California based recruiting which broadly speaking had worked well across the decades.
That, of course, more or less all came to naught. I still like having a few local guys. I might feel more strongly if USF/SMC/Cal/Stanford were all winning a lot with tons of NorCal kids, but broadly speaking they really donāt.
Also, was the best that Kuykendallās high school in San Ramon could do in (checks notes) 1973 (!!!) was come up with the name āCalifornia High Schoolā? Thatās pretty lazy.
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I believe Keating had a commitment from Paul George at one point and he obviously ended up decommitting.
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