Syracuse basketball 4-star commit, 5-star recruits on All-Peach Jam teams

A Syracuse basketball commit and two Orange recruiting targets were among the top performers at the recently held Peach Jam in Nike’s EYBL league.

From July 3 to July 9, the EYBL held its season-ending Peach Jam tournament at the Riverview Park Activities Center in North Augusta, S.C., where champions got crowned in the 17U, 16U and 15U divisions, as well as the Peach Invitational Tournament (“PIT”).

At the conclusion of Peach Jam, the experts at The Circuit published an article where they honored numerous high-school prospects across various recruiting cycles for their performances at this annual EYBL event.

Among those who received accolades, and have Syracuse basketball connections, are 2024 four-star commit Donnie Freeman, 2024 five-star target Jalil Bethea and 2025 five-star recruit Joson Sanon, who reportedly heard from the Orange coaching staff once the contact period opened up for the rising-junior class on June 15.

A Syracuse basketball commit and a pair of recruits were stars at Peach Jam.

Both the 6-foot-4 Bethea, a five-star guard, and the 6-foot-9 Freeman, a four-star power forward, were named to The Circuit’s All-Peach Jam first team.

Bethea, who was offered a scholarship by the ‘Cuse in September of 2022 and took an official visit to the Hill the following month, is a standout for the Philadelphia-based Team Final, which fell in the quarterfinals of the 17U Peach Jam after winning the EYBL regular-season crown in this division. Per The Circuit, Bethea averaged 18.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.3 assists per game.

Freeman is a key contributor for the Washington, D.C.-based Team Takeover, which this past Sunday captured the Peach Jam’s 17U championship, defeating the Las Vegas-based Vegas Elite, 76-61, in the final contest.

Playing on ESPNU in the title game, Freeman had a strong second half and finished with 13 points, four rebounds, one assist and one block. Team Takeover went a perfect 8-0 at Peach Jam, and at this week-long event, Freeman averaged 12.9 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists per encounter.

In May, Freeman verbally committed to Syracuse basketball over other finalists Alabama, Iowa, Texas and Georgia Tech. He and four-star shooting guard Elijah Moore from New York City make up the Orange’s two-member 2024 class that is ranked in the top 10 nationwide at present.

The 6-foot-6 Sanon, a five-star wing, was named to The Circuit’s All-Peach Jam underclass squad. He averaged 15.2 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game at Peach Jam, per The Circuit, while playing up a division for the 17U group of the Boston-based Expressions Elite.

Sanon, a talented, fast-rising shooting guard/small forward, said in the past that he wanted to hear from the ‘Cuse, and the Syracuse basketball coaching staff did make contact with him in mid-June, according to media reports.

In the 2025 cycle, several recruiting services rate Sanon as a top-20 national prospect in the rising-junior class.