5) Washington Huskies
Spending: $216,323
2019 Recruiting Ranking: 11th
Mike Hopkins has dispelled any concerns critics had about Washington‘s decision to hire the longtime Syracuse assistant during his first two seasons in Seattle, including his ability to recruit on the West Coast.
The Huskies landed the nation’s No. 11 recruiting class in the 2019 cycle, headlined by a pair of five-star prospects in Isaiah Stewart and Jaden McDaniels, both of whom rank among the top eight individual prospects in the country. Hopkins beat out Duke and Kentucky, respectively, for each prospect despite having far less money to work with.
Stewart is from Rochester, NY originally and built a strong connection with Hopkins while he was still at Syracuse. That base played a major role in his decision to pick the Huskies.
For McDaniels, Washington had a distinct advantage. His high school, Federal Way, is in the Seattle metropolitan area, so recruiting trips to see him were not exactly the most expensive. Having great home-grown players will certainly help with your budget.
Hopkins is still building his regional recruiting base headed into his third season with the Huskies, so it remains to be seen if we’ll see this level of financial efficiency from the program on a consistent basis. But, for the 2019-20 season at least, Washington is in position to get a pretty solid return on their recruiting investment.