The new Syracuse basketball staff under first-year head coach Gerry McNamara has re-offered a scholarship to one of the best point guards in the 2028 class.
Florida product Tai Bell, a 2028 five-star point guard and a top-30 national prospect in the high school junior class, has been re-offered by the new Orange coaching staff, Inside the Loud House has learned. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound Bell also confirmed this news via his Instagram page on Wednesday.
The former SU staff under then-head coach Adrian Autry first offered a scholarship to Bell in July of last year. This past March, Bell unofficially visited the 'Cuse, and that trip to Central New York went well, I'm told.
Offers on the table thus far for Elite Class of 2028 5⭐️ PG Tai Bell. (@TaiBoogie5)
— 𝙋𝙖𝙧𝙠𝙚𝙧’𝙨 𝙀𝙙𝙞𝙩𝙨 (@parkeredits23) July 21, 2026
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Tai goes to Miami Columbus HS in FL, and he’s just getting started. He plays in the EYBL circuit with Kenny Smith’s team Jet Academy. He is 6’3 200lbs and is one to watch for!
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Where should Tai… pic.twitter.com/M6vOIbOrki
As a sophomore in the 2025-26 campaign, Bell received an honorable mention nod for the MaxPreps sophomore All-America teams. He averaged 32 points, seven rebounds and five assists per contest for Mater Lakes Academy in Hialeah, Fla., and also was named the Class 4A player of the year in Florida.
Sophomore regular season film in link below! https://t.co/3G2qyaukF6
— Tai Bell (@TaiBoogie5) January 29, 2026
3️⃣2️⃣ points 7️⃣ rebounds and 5️⃣ assists per game. @MLA_BasketbaII pic.twitter.com/qfeBT49N3W
In late May, Bell announced that he would transfer for his junior season to the powerhouse Christopher Columbus High School in Miami. Christopher has captured five straight Florida High School Athletic Association ("FHSAA") Class 7A state titles, and in the 2024-25 season, the Explorers won the high school national title by claiming the Chipotle Nationals at the end of that season.
Syracuse basketball has gotten back into the mix for elite 2028 PG Tai Bell.
Bell, the son of former NBA shooting guard and defensive star Raja Bell, holds offers from schools such as Florida State, Auburn, Houston, Kansas State, Missouri, Ohio State, Ole Miss, Pittsburgh, Purdue, TCU, Texas, Texas A&M, Virginia, Washington, Villanova, Creighton and South Florida, among many others.
Tai Bell hasn't made any sort of list cut yet, as he continues to get to know his various suitors. At some point, he'll map out teams that he wants to visit; let's see if the new Orange staff gets him on the Hill for a visit at some point in the future.
This spring and summer on Nike's EYBL circuit, Bell was lights out while playing up a division for the 17U team of the Atlanta-based Jet Academy in Nike's EYBL league.
Thankful for an incredible Summer. I wanted to prove that on ANY stage there arent many PGs better than me! Made the move to @NikeEYB and played 🆙 with the 2027's in 17u so there would b NO doubt! Thx @jetacademyeybl 🙏🏽 @PaulBiancardi @JamieShaw5 @ebosshoops @TDrakeBasktball pic.twitter.com/f6ydIGvZv3
— Tai Bell (@TaiBoogie5) July 22, 2026
On Tuesday, the scouting experts at The Circuit doled out awards and honors following last weekend's Peach Jam in North Augusta, S.C., as the EYBL league wrapped up its season amid a live period where McNamara and his assistants were on hand.
At Peach Jam, Bell averaged 16.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.4 steals per game. The Circuit named him to its All-Peach Jam third team. For the entire EYBL season, Bell averaged 17.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.8 steals per contest while making 57.1 percent from the field, 31.6 percent from beyond the arc and 83.0 percent from the free-throw line.
The contact period for the 2028 class opened on June 15. McNamara and his assistants have offered numerous four-star and five-star prospects in this cycle since then, while showing an interest in other high school juniors, as Inside the Loud House has detailed.
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