NCAA Basketball: A look at top early contenders for No. 1 prospect Cooper Flagg

When looking at who the next superstar NCAA Basketball prospects are, there are a few in the future recruiting classes to watch for. The biggest name of all of them right now is Cooper Flagg, who looks to be a generation recruit at the moment. He’s a 6’9 forward from Maine that has been a national name for the past couple of years, even though he’s in the 2025 class.

At the Peach Jam this past week, Flagg was the star of the entire showcase. The 16-year-old averaged 25.5 ppg, 13.0 rpg, and 6.9 bpg in seven games, leading his Maine United Team to the 16U Peach Jam title game before losing to the Boozer brothers on Sunday. In one game, Flagg went for 38 points, 16 rebounds, and a whopping 12 blocks this past week.

As a class of 2025 prospect, Flagg’s recruitment is still fairly early. However, because of his age, there’s a chance that he could reclassify and join the 2024 class, which would mean that he’d be just over a year from playing in NCAA Basketball. That creates an interesting situation where all eyes would be on Flagg and his recruitment for the next several months.

But who is in the mix right now? He’s gotten over a dozen scholarship offers, including from some big-named programs, as well as a few mid-majors. Realistically, Albany, Bryant, and even local option Maine isn’t going to win out. Yet there are some notable teams that are reportedly trying to become serious players in this recruitment, regardless of which class he’s in.

Here’s an early look at eight programs reportedly interested in the prospect and whether they have a shot.