NCAA Basketball Recruiting: 10 biggest early winners of 2024 class

6. Miami Hurricanes

It’s been a historical past few months for the Hurricanes, making the Final Four for the first time in program history and following that up with the highest-ranked commit in history in Jalil Bethea. He’s a five-star shooting guard, ranked in the top-10 overall. The elite prospect from near Philadelphia projects to be an instant star for the team for a backcourt that could lose either Nijel Pack or Wooga Poplar, who are both upperclassmen right now.

The commitments of top-50 shooting guard Austin Swartz and three-star wing Isaiah Johnson-Arigu might fly under the radar but Miami benefits from having them as well. They currently have the No. 6 overall class, which would easily be the best in program history. As long as Coach Jim Larranaga is around, the Hurricanes will remain nationally viable.

5. Arizona Wildcats

Early on Coach Tommy Lloyd has proven that he can land star prospects, even without Mark Few of Gonzaga around. He landed five-star small forward Carter Bryant early last offseason and he’ll be able to slide into the three-spot next season, replacing Pelle Larsson. Jamari Phillips is a 6-3 off-guard who is close to getting five-star status as well, set to replace Caleb Love (assuming he doesn’t use the extra covid year) in the backcourt rotation.

Arizona was also able to get Phillips high school teammate, Emmanuel Stephen. He’s a 7’0 local center prospect who ideally, will be the next star center on the team. Oumar Ballo has 1-2 years as well so the Wildcats will be hopeful that this stellar class can make an immediate impact on the 2024-25 campaign a year from now.