Mississippi State Basketball: Bulldogs stay hot with D.J. Stewart commitment

Four-star Class of 2018 recruit D.J. Stewart has committed to Ben Howland and the Mississippi State Bulldogs, Is this a sign of things to come?

Last season, the Mississippi State Bulldogs finished No. 12 in the SEC with a dismal 6-12 record in conference play and 16-16 overall. The Bulldogs, who were expected to look a little bit better than they had in the past, failed to take a step forward despite the arrival of a few highly-touted recruits.

Ben Howland and Co. cannot afford to take another step back in an increasingly strong SEC, and it looks like they have met that challenge head on, as they received yet another commitment from a top 2018 prospect, D.J. Stewart.

Stewart, a 6’6, 190-pound small forward/shooting guard out of Greenville, Mississippi, is ranked as a consensus four-star Class of 2018 recruit by the top recruiting sites. 247 Sports has him rated as the No. 114 player in the national composite rankings, Rivals has him rated as No. 106, and Scout has him rated as the No. 103 player of the class.

The most telling ranking, however, is that both Scout and 247 Sports has Stewart ranked as the No. 2 player in Mississippi. If Howland is going to have success at Mississippi State, he must recruit well in the state, and it looks like he is on the right path with this commitment.

The Bulldogs have already received a commitment from five-star recruit Reggie Perry out of Georgia.

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Howland is already recruiting heavily for the 2018-19 season and, if this team can continue to bring in top recruits like Perry and Stewart, the Bulldogs could be a power in the SEC for a long, long time.