Syracuse Basketball: 5-star recruit, nation’s No. 1 PG, would like to visit SU

Syracuse basketball (Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports)
Syracuse basketball (Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports)

New Syracuse basketball recruiting target Tyler Jackson from Baltimore, a five-star point guard and a top-10 national prospect in the 2025 class, says that he wants to visit the Hill at some point in the future.

The 6-foot-3 Jackson, in an interview with recruiting analyst Charles Kang of The Juice Online, said, “Syracuse is a school I would definitely like to visit. Definitely will stay in contact throughout my high school career.”

That’s great to hear. To be fair, as a sophomore, Jackson’s recruiting process likely has a long way to go. He’s already amassed some big-time scholarship offers, but his offer sheet should balloon come mid-June, when college coaches can start initiating direct communication with 2025 prospects.

Jackson disclosed a few days ago via Twitter that he had received a scholarship offer from Syracuse basketball. His lead recruiter is Orange assistant coach Brenden Straughn, who has strong recruiting ties in the Washington, D.C., and Baltimore regions.

Syracuse basketball, just recently, offered 2025 five-star point guard Tyler Jackson.

On Monday, Jackson disclosed a new offer from Houston, which has proven one of the best teams in collegiate hoops over the last couple of seasons. In the 2021 NCAA Tournament, the Cougars defeated the ‘Cuse in the Sweet 16 on their way to the Final Four.

In the 2022 Big Dance, Houston journeyed to the Elite Eight. This spring, in the 2023 March Madness, the Cougars were a No. 1 seed and got to the Sweet 16, where they fell to eventual Final Four participant Miami.

To date, Jackson’s offer list also includes squads such as Kansas (the 2022 national champions), Alabama, Maryland, Illinois, Rutgers, Seton Hall, DePaul, George Mason, Georgia Tech and Rhode Island, among others.

In a recent piece from Jacey Zembal on Rivals.com, Jackson said in part, “I’m waiting for that Kentucky offer.”

Multiple recruiting services rate Jackson as a four-star, top-20 overall player. But when ESPN refreshed its 2025 national rankings not too long ago, he arrived as five stars, No. 9 across the country and No. 1 at point guard.

In the 2022-23 stanza, as a sophomore for the Saint Frances Academy in Baltimore, Jackson was named to the Baltimore Catholic League’s All-Conference second team. The Panthers, in 2022-23, won the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association (“MIAA”) A Conference title.

This past weekend, amid the second of two April live periods on the AAU circuit, Jackson was sensational for the 16U squad of the Baltimore-based Team Thrill in the Under Armour Association league.

As college coaches watched him compete at the Rock Hill Sports and Event Center in Rock Hill, S.C., Jackson helped guide Team Thrill to the Under Armour Association’s 16U spring crown.

Jackson added to recruiting analyst Kang, “It feels good to get a offer from Syracuse. Especially with Melo (Carmelo Anthony) being a legend up there and Coach B recruiting me it felt good.”

I’ll certainly monitor if and when Jackson does potentially make a trip to Central New York down the line. Other new Orange targets who have said of late that they would like to visit Syracuse basketball in the future include 2024 four-star center Patrick Ngongba II and 2024 four-star point guard Mikey Lewis.