Syracuse Basketball: 4-star recruit Kiyan Anthony takes a tumble in national rankings

In updated 2025 national rankings this week from recruiting service 247Sports, Syracuse basketball four-star priority target Kiyan Anthony from New York City dropped a bit.

Let me just preface the rest of this column by saying that the 6-foot-5 shooting guard remains an elite prospect on a national scale in the junior class.

That being said, Anthony had checked in at No. 39 overall via 247Sports, but when that recruiting Web site refreshed its 2025 ratings, Anthony fell 21 spots to No. 60 nationally.

Within the junior cycle, he’s the No. 9 shooting guard and the No. 1 player out of New York state, according to 247Sports.

Syracuse basketball remains a big contender for four-star Kiyan Anthony.

A junior at the powerhouse Long Island Lutheran High School in Brookville, N.Y., Anthony received a scholarship offer from the ‘Cuse in November of 2022.

The son of Syracuse basketball legend Carmelo Anthony, who guided the Orange to the program’s only national title in 2003, Kiyan Anthony took an official visit to the Hill in late October of last year.

He has also officially visited fellow Atlantic Coast Conference squad Florida State, and Anthony has said on many occasions that he’s likely to take official visits to Big Ten Conference schools Indiana and Michigan.

Anthony recently told Connor Pignatello in an article on masslive.com that he plans to trim down his list of contenders still in the running to five schools on March 7, which is his birthday.

To date, Anthony’s offer sheet has included schools such as West Virginia, UCF, Michigan, Maryland, Dayton, Florida State, Pittsburgh, Albany, Illinois, Indiana, Tennessee, Seton Hall, UMass, Providence, Memphis, Bryant, George Mason and Manhattan.

Kentucky is also reportedly showing an interest in him. If I had to venture a guess, I’d say that Anthony’s top five will likely consist of Syracuse basketball, Florida State, Indiana and Michigan, with the fifth remaining suitor unclear to me.

There were reports that Anthony was eyeing a trip to Central New York to watch the Orange’s home game against Miami on January 20, a thrilling ACC affair that the 'Cuse won at the buzzer on a heave from sophomore wing Quadir Copeland. But as I first reported on X, that trip was postponed due to a scheduling conflict.

When Syracuse basketball first offered Anthony, some recruiting services had him in the top 75 of the 2025 class. Although he fell to No. 60 via 247Sports, all of the other primary recruiting services rank Anthony as a top-50 national prospect, a top-10 shooting guard and the No. 1 player in New York state.

During the most recent AAU season last spring and summer, he was a breakout performer for the Baltimore-based Team Melo in Nike’s EYBL league.

On3 refreshed its 2025 national rankings not too long ago, vaulting Anthony to No. 30 overall, No. 8 at his position and No. 1 in New York.

Anthony is part of a stacked 2023-24 roster for Long Island Lutheran, and he comes off the bench for the Crusaders. It’s my understanding that he’s having a solid junior year at Long Island Lutheran.

Candidly, I don’t fully understand why Anthony dropped more than 20 spots in the latest 2025 national rankings from 247Sports.