Syracuse Orange news: 4-star football offers, huge lacrosse honor, more

In recent days, Syracuse Orange football coaches have offered scholarships to a variety of high-school prospects, including several four-star players on the west coast.

Now, there is obviously a massive difference between the ‘Cuse making an offer and the team landing a commitment, but it’s still encouraging to see the Syracuse Orange football staff pursuing top-flight prospects.

Per their Twitter pages, the ‘Cuse has offered 2024 four-star wide receiver Xavier Jordan, 2025 four-star athlete LaMason Waller lll, and 2025 four-star wide receiver Phillip Bell III.

Here’s a little background on each of these new Syracuse Orange football recruits, courtesy of the 247Sports Web site. The 6-foot-1, 165-pound Jordan attends Cathedral High School in Los Angeles. He is No. 74 nationally, No. 11 at wide receiver, and No. 11 in California.

The 6-foot-2, 170-pound Waller is out of Sultana High School in Hesperia, Calif. He is the No. 99 overall prospect, No. 9 at the athlete position, and No. 14 in California.

The 6-foot-2, 190-pound Bell goes to the Christian Brothers High School in Sacramento, Calif. In his class, he is highly rated, at No. 34 nationwide, No. 9 at wide receiver, and No. 6 in California. We’ll certainly continue to track the recruiting processes of these three excellent players.

Other Syracuse Orange news

Meaghan Tyrrell is the preseason national POY
Per SU Athletics, ahead of the upcoming 2023 campaign, Syracuse Orange women’s lacrosse player Meaghan Tyrrell is USA Lacrosse Magazine’s 2023 Division I women’s preseason player of the year.

Tyrrell, the  5-foot-3 graduate student attack, is also one of five ‘Cuse players named to USA Lacrosse Magazine’s preseason All-America teams.

She had a really impressive 2022 campaign, tallying 111 points on 78 goals and 33 assists. Tyrrell, who is from Mt. Sinai, N.Y., was a finalist last year for the Tewaaraton Award, which is doled out annually to the best players in men’s and women’s lacrosse.

NCAA/recruiting news

Latest 2023 player rankings make me sad
Okay, so it’s been well-documented by me and others who cover Syracuse Orange basketball recruiting that the men’s squad has yet to receive a commitment in the 2023 cycle, despite offering more than 20 players in the senior class.

Not too long ago, 247Sports updated its national rankings of the top-150 prospects in 2023, and scrolling through that list made me equal parts sad, disappointed and angry. So many former ‘Cuse targets are highly rated on the 247Sports list, and I’ll drop a bunch of them here. Sigh.

Five-star small forward Justin Edwards (Kentucky commit), No. 3
Five-star guard D.J. Wagner (Kentucky commit), No. 4
Five-star guard/wing Matas Buzelis (NBA’s G League Ignite commit), No. 5
Five-star forward Kwame Evans Jr. (Oregon commit), No. 11
Four-star point guard Elmarko Jackson (Kansas commit), No. 23
Four-star point guard Aden Holloway (Auburn commit), No. 24
Four-star guard Elijah Gertrude (Virginia commit), No. 35
Four-star guard Simeon Wilcher (North Carolina commit), No. 36
Four-star wing Gavin Griffiths (Rutgers commit), No. 51
Four-star small forward Kaden Cooper (Oklahoma commit), No. 55
Four-star center Joseph Estrella (Tennessee commit), No. 61
Four-star center Papa Kante (Michigan commit), No. 87
Four-star guard Mike Williams (LSU commit), No. 91
Four-star wing Reid Ducharme (Xavier commit), No. 92
Four-star center Drew Fielder (Providence commit), No. 113