Syracuse basketball coaches, recently, have doled out scholarship offers to several high school prospects in the 2025 class.
In total, according to media reports and recruiting services, the Orange staff has offered more than 20 players in the high school junior cycle, however, some of those offers were made a while back.
While it's a little bit later in the game for 2025 prospects to be receiving a sizable number of offers at this stage in their respective recruitments, I think it's important to note some context here.
For one, Adrian Autry in March wrapped up his first year as the team's head coach. Also, not too long ago, former Syracuse basketball star and associate head coach Gerry McNamara departed the Hill to lead Siena in his first head-coaching gig.
To help fill the void left by GMac moving on, SU Athletics recently hired former Mount St. Mary's head coach Dan Engelstad as the Orange's third assistant coach. Based on these developments and perhaps other factors, it's not a huge surprise to see the 'Cuse staff evolve its 2025 recruiting focus and hand out some new offers.
Here are some of the new Syracuse basketball recruits in the 2025 class.
This list below may not be entirely exhaustive, but lately, the Orange has offered at least four "new" prospects in the 2025 cycle. They are:
Acaden Lewis
The 6-foot-3 Lewis, a four-star guard, helped guide the Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D.C., to a pair of titles in the 2023-24 season as well as a top-20 national ranking.
In grassroots basketball, he is off to a hot start while competing for the 17U squad of the Oxon Hill, Md.-based Team Durant in Nike’s EYBL league.
Lewis, who is highly interested in visiting the Orange, picked up numerous awards and accolades for his stellar junior season at Sidwell Friends. The top-70 national prospect's offer list includes West Virginia, Maryland, Virginia Tech, Villanova, Florida State, Georgetown, Virginia, Brown, Bryant, George Mason, George Washington, Georgia, Howard, Nebraska, Oregon, Penn State, Providence, St. John's, Vanderbilt, Norfolk State and UMBC.
Shon Abaev
The 6-foot-8 Abaev, a four-star, top-40 overall player in the 2025 cycle, is a dynamic shot-maker and prolific scorer, according to national analysts and scouts.
Abaev put forth a terrific 2023-24 stanza for the Calvary Christian Academy in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. In AAU events, he's one of the standouts for the 17U group of the Pembroke Pines, Fla.-based SOH Elite in the Under Armour Association league ("UAA") league.
To date, the exquisite small forward holds around 20 scholarship offers from teams such as Oregon, Tennessee, Arizona State, Auburn, Creighton, Florida, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Kansas, LSU, St. John's, UCF, USF and Southern California, among others.
Syracuse basketball has offered 2025 four-star small forward Shon Abaev, a top-50 national prospect. Abaev is a standout with the Calvary Christian Academy in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and SOH Elite, an Orlando, Fla.-based AAU program on the UAA circuit. Congrats, @shon_abaev! 🧡🔽 https://t.co/jdNJSyezFG
— InsideTheLoudHouse (@LoudHouseFS) April 29, 2024
Dante Allen
The 6-foot-4 Allen is a top-100 national prospect in the 2025 class. As a junior, he won a state championship while starring for the Riviera Preparatory School in Miami.
On the AAU circuit, the four-star player is a standout with 17U team of the Miami-based Nightrydas Elite in Nike’s EYBL league. At the time of this writing, Allen was ranked as high as No. 69 nationally by ESPN.
Allen's offer sheet also includes squads such as Michigan, Villanova, Memphis, Miami, Florida Gulf Coast, UCF, LSU, Illinois, Creighton and Georgetown.
Asher Elson
The 6-foot-10 Elson is a fast-rising, three-star power forward/center in the 2025 cycle. He is a key contributor at South Shore High School in Brooklyn, N.Y., and has started off the spring/summer AAU circuit well playing for the 17U team of the Bronx, N.Y.-based New York Gauchos in the Adidas 3SSB league.
According to his X account and recruiting services, beyond Syracuse basketball, Elson has secured offers from schools such as Creighton, Illinois, St. John's, Temple, UAB and Fordham.
When I wrote this piece, On3 had him at No. 144 overall, No. 32 at power forward and No. 7 in New York within his class. That being said, top NYC hoops writer Brian Reichert of NYCHoops.net and Rivals.com recently told me that Elson is trending toward four-star status and even has five-star potential.