Syracuse basketball 2025 recruiting focus after 4-star Ryder Frost selects ACC foe

Ryder Frost, a 2025 four-star wing from Massachusetts who had Syracuse basketball in his top six and officially visited the 'Cuse in late June, verbally committed to fellow Atlantic Coast Conference school Notre Dame via the 247Sports YouTube channel on Friday.

The Fighting Irish, heading into his commitment announcement, had a lot of analyst buzz on various recruiting Web sites, so Frost choosing Notre Dame is hardly a surprise. I wish Ryder much success moving forward.

For the Orange coaching staff, Frost's decision is one of several recent ones where a 'Cuse 2025 recruit opted for another suitor or cut his list while not including Syracuse basketball.

These other examples include:
•Four-star forward London Jemison from Connecticut, who had the Orange in his top six, verbally committing to Alabama.
•Four-star guard Derek Dixon from Washington, D.C., who also at one point had the 'Cuse in his top six, is headed to North Carolina.
•Four-star point guard Keyshuan Tillery from Albany, N.Y., who was mulling a possible second visit to Syracuse basketball, chose Cincinnati.
•Four-star guard Acaden Lewis from D.C., who had the Orange in his top eight and unofficially visited Syracuse basketball in early August, trimmed his list to four finalists, and the 'Cuse didn't make the cut.

While I'm providing context here, this column isn't meant to serve as doom and gloom. The Orange still has the opportunity to haul in a strong 2025 class. Let's delve into that a bit more.

Where things stand with the Syracuse basketball 2025 cycle.

Okay. In late May, 2025 five-star forward and top-15 national prospect Sadiq White Jr. from Charlotte, N.C., verbally pledged to the Orange. This is a big-time get for the 'Cuse coaching staff.

Other 2025 four-star prospects for Syracuse basketball fans to monitor include:
•Kiyan Anthony, a four-star shooting guard from New York City, who has the Orange in his top six and officially visited the program in late October of last year.
•Shon Abaev, a four-star wing/small forward from Florida, who officially visited Syracuse basketball in late August of this year.
•Tyler Jackson, a four-star point guard from Baltimore, who took an official visit to the 'Cuse in late January of this year.
•Asher Elson, a four-star big man from New York City, who received a scholarship offer from the Orange in mid-April of this year.

Without question, Syracuse basketball is heavily in the mix for Anthony. I don't think it's a lock that he ultimately dons a 'Cuse uniform, but I do believe that the Orange is the favorite for him at this time.

Abaev's recruitment is hard to gauge. By all accounts, his official visit to the Hill went well, and he speaks highly of his relationship with the 'Cuse staff. However, he's also taken a bunch of officials visits. Recruiting analysts who I've spoken with of late don't seem to think there's necessarily a front-runner for Abaev at this juncture.

Jackson's recruiting process, to me, is a bit fuzzy. He's said in the past that he would speak regularly with the Orange coaching staff. He's been on an official visit to the team. But just how high of an interest level Syracuse basketball coaches have in him, or perhaps vice versa, is unclear to me.

Regarding Elson, he's an emerging national prospect in the 2025 class. His recruitment, too, has proven a tad quiet. Elson is spending his senior year in the Atlanta-based professional league Overtime Elite, where he'll face top-flight competition and receive national exposure. Let's see if he ultimately takes a visit to Syracuse basketball.

Beyond that, I'm not aware of other 2025 players whom the 'Cuse staff is aggressively pursuing at this time. I haven't seen any new offers of late by the Orange to those in the senior cycle. When the squad held its annual Elite Camp late last month, media reports indicated that several 2025 prospects were in attendance. This is perhaps something to monitor.

The other important thing to keep in mind here is roster construction and the transfer portal. For the upcoming 2024-25 season, the 'Cuse has 12 scholarship players, several of whom are playing their final term of collegiate ball.

So the Orange will have scholarships open for the 2025-26 campaign. Plus, we don't know at this time what 2024-25 players might hit the portal after this coming season, nor how many guys Syracuse basketball coaches will aim to bring in via the portal before 2025-26 commences.

My point here is that the days of major college basketball programs having five or six commits from the high school level in a particular recruiting cycle aren't necessarily over due to the portal, but classes of such a size aren't likely to be as prevalent moving forward, either.

I could envision the 'Cuse landing two to four high school commits in its 2025 cycle. White, hopefully Anthony, and perhaps one (or two) of the other four-star recruits noted above. Then again, maybe Orange coaches will get involved with a new 2025 prospect in the near future. Stay tuned.

I don't think Syracuse basketball is necessarily poised for a top five or even a top 10 class in 2025. But it can still be a solid one at the prep level, and then we'll have to see how the 'Cuse staff fares in the portal after the 2024-25 season is a wrap.