Syracuse basketball 2026 priority target Deron Rippey Jr. has scored more than 40 scholarship offers throughout his recruitment from a range of high-major programs.
But now he's down to 12 suitors.
The five-star point guard, a top-20 national prospect, has a final dozen of Syracuse basketball, Alabama, Duke, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, Miami, North Carolina, N.C. State, Tennessee and Texas, his dad, Deron Rippey Sr., confirmed to me via text message on Tuesday.
I'm encouraged that the Orange made Deron Rippey Jr.'s list cut, although I'm not all that surprised. He's already unofficially visited the 'Cuse and will make a second trip to the Hill later this year.
As I first reported late last week, the 6-foot-2 Rippey will take an official visit to Syracuse basketball from September 26 to September 28, the same weekend as 2026 four-star small forward Vaughn Karvala from Wisconsin.
Syracuse basketball has made the top 12 of 2026 five-star PG Deron Rippey Jr.
Rippey, who is from Brooklyn, N.Y., has other official visits scheduled to Kentucky, Miami, North Carolina, Alabama, Texas, Indiana, Tennessee and Kansas. He previously took an official visit to Louisville, and Rippey is expected to officially visit Duke and N.C. State, per On3.
A standout rising senior at the Blair Academy in Blairstown, N.J., Rippey will be a significant All-American candidate during the 2025-26 season. On the AAU circuit, this past weekend, he helped lead the 17U team of the New York-based New Heights to the quarterfinals of the season-ending Adidas 3SSB playoffs in Rock Hill, S.C.
Orange coaches were on hand for Rippey last weekend amid an NCAA-permitted live period. The 'Cuse coaching staff has watched him on many occasions since offering a scholarship to Rippey in late August of 2023.
In late February of 2024, on Jim Boeheim Day, Rippey took an unofficial visit to Syracuse basketball, as I first reported. His dad has said to me for a while now that his son would officially visit the program at some point.
On Tuesday, the 'Cuse held a slight lead for Rippey, according to On3's Recruiting Prediction Machine. While that's great to see, his recruiting process has a long way to go, and Syracuse basketball coaches will have to battle numerous blue-blood teams to try and prevail for the country's No. 2 point guard in the 2026 class.
Rippey is one of the top targets for Syracuse basketball in its 2026 cycle, along with Karvala and five-star shooting guard Jordan Smith Jr. from the Washington, D.C., area.