4-star guard, who is close with Syracuse basketball coaches, sets SU official visit

Four-star shooting guard Dakari Spear, a 2026 prospect from Texas, will take an official visit to Syracuse basketball during the weekend that begins on September 5, a source confirmed to me on Thursday morning.

Multiple recruiting analysts, including Sam Kayser, first reported on this news earlier on Thursday morning. The 6-foot-4 Spear, a priority recruit for the Orange in the rising high school senior class, has also set official visits to Texas Tech and Vanderbilt, according to reports.

Earlier this month, Spear dropped a final five of Syracuse basketball, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Vanderbilt and Virginia Tech. He has said that he plans to officially visit all five schools before making a college decision.

The 'Cuse coaching staff offered a scholarship to Spear in October of 2024. Since then, the Orange has recruited him hard, visiting Spear at his former high school program and also on the AAU circuit.

Syracuse basketball will host 2026 four-star shooting guard Dakari Spear on an official visit.

Spear will start his official visit to the 'Cuse on a Friday. The following day, on Saturday, Sept. 6, Syracuse football will host UConn at the JMA Wireless Dome. My assumption is that Spear will be in attendance at the Dome for this non-conference encounter.

Within the 2026 class, when I wrote this column, the industry-generated 247Sports Composite placed Spear at No. 56 overall, No. 7 at shooting guard and No. 6 in Texas.

In the 2024-25 season, as a junior, Spear averaged 23 points and seven rebounds per game for The Colony High School in The Colony, Texas. Earlier this summer, word broke that he would spend his senior year at the powerhouse Dynamic Prep in Irving, Texas, which this past April advanced to the title game of the Chipotle Nationals in Fishers, Ind.

This spring and summer, during the Nike EYBL circuit's regular season, Spear played well for the 17U team of the Irving, Texas-based Drive Nation. He averaged 14.7 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. Last month, at the EYBL's Peach Jam in North Augusta, S.C., he averaged 11.6 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists per contest.

The scouting experts at The Circuit, for the latest campaign in the Nike league, gave Spear an All-EYBL honorable mention. Spear is one of several Syracuse basketball 2026 priority targets who are visiting the Hill over the next two months.

Regarding the Orange, Spear said to 247Sports national analyst Brandon Jenkins: "I talk to Adrian Autry, Dan Englestad, and Alex Kline. They've had success in their program in the past. Even before they offered me, the coaches showed a lot of interest. They would come to my practices to watch me or FaceTime me to let me know they had been talking about me in their meetings."