Syracuse Basketball: 4-star Acaden Lewis feeling the love from SU, has Kentucky visit

Since offering him a scholarship in late April, Syracuse basketball coaches have been recruiting 2025 four-star combo guard Acaden Lewis from Washington, D.C., extremely hard, and I anticipate that he will visit the Orange soon.

The 6-foot-3 Lewis has proven a hot prospect on the AAU circuit this spring, and that's led to numerous new offers, including from the 'Cuse.

Lewis, who was excellent as a junior for his high school program in our nation's capital, is also receiving interest from several blue-blood programs.

Lewis has said in multiple recent interviews that he's in the process of setting up some official visits, and the Orange is on his list. He also has scheduled an unofficial visit to Kentucky, according to multiple media reports.

Acaden Lewis, a 2025 4-star combo guard, is developing a strong bond with Syracuse basketball coaches.

The majority of recruiting services, within the rising high school senior cycle, place Lewis in the top 100 overall, the top 15 at point guard/combo guard and within the top three in D.C. He recently jumped to just outside the top 50 nationally, per updated 2025 rankings from MADE Hoops.

As a junior during the 2023-24 campaign, Lewis received a ton of awards and honors for helping guide the Sidwell Friends School in D.C. to a 27-4 overall mark, a top-20 national ranking, and both the Mid-Atlantic Athletic Conference ("MAC") title and the District of Columbia State Athletic Association ("DCSAA") Class AA tournament championship.

This spring on the AAU circuit, a bevy of national analysts and scouts has deemed Lewis a top performer as he has starred for the 17U squad of the Oxon Hill, Md.-based Team Durant in Nike’s EYBL league.

Last month, as the EYBL held a session in Indianapolis amid an NCAA live period, reports stated that Orange head coach Adrian Autry was in attendance for at least one of Team Durant's games to check in on Lewis.

According to his X page and recruiting services, beyond the 'Cuse, Lewis' full offer sheet includes schools such as Pittsburgh, Ole Miss, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Michigan, 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.

Recent reports have indicated that programs such as Kentucky, Kansas and two-time defending national champion UConn are also showing an interest in Lewis. To that end, analyst/scout Colby Giacubeno of MADE Hoops and 247Sports said in a recent post on X that Lewis plans to take an unofficial visit to Kentucky on June 17.

Jacob Polacheck, a reporter with KSR+ on the On3 network, had recently noted that as it pertains to the Wildcats, Kentucky assistant coach Jason Hart, a former Syracuse basketball star, is communicating with Lewis.

To date, Lewis has officially visited both Virginia and Florida State, while he's also gone on unofficial visits to Georgetown and Virginia Tech. In a recent interview with On3 national analyst/scout Jamie Shaw, Lewis reiterated that as he sets up official visits, likely after the summer, the Orange is on his list, among a few others.

Regarding Syracuse basketball, Lewis said to Shaw, "Coach (Brenden) Straughn was recruiting me back when he was at George Washington, so we already kind of had that relationship. (Head) Coach Red (Autry) has been on my trail, and he’s really brought in. It was about three weeks ago, and since then they’ve been hot on my trail. I appreciate how they’ve recruited me."