Syracuse Basketball: 5-star recruit Alex Constanza vaults into top 3, eyes nation's No. 1 spot

New Syracuse basketball 2026 five-star recruit Alex Constanza is inching closer to the No. 1 national ranking in his class.

The 6-foot-8 guard/small forward, a standout at the Westminster Academy in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., who is having an All-American sophomore season to date, has moved inside the top five in updated national ratings for his cycle.

In recent days, ESPN put out its latest top 25 for the 2026 class, and Constanza jumped from No. 7 to No. 3 across the country. It’s the highest national ranking for him at this juncture that I’m seeing among the primary recruiting services.

In a recent post on X, ESPN recruiting director Paul Biancardi put out a graphic detailing some of the top risers in these new ratings, and Constanza is included.

ESPN also places Constanza as the No. 1 small forward and the No. 1 prospect coming out of Florida in the 2026 class.

Syracuse basketball 2026 five-star target Alex Constanza can compete for the top spot.

In mid-January, I first reported that the ‘Cuse coaching staff had offered a scholarship to Constanza, who was deemed by analysts as a top performer during the most recent AAU campaign while starring for the 15U team of the Miami-based Nightrydas Elite in Nike’s EYBL league.

Syracuse basketball assistant coach Allen Griffin is the Orange’s lead recruiter for Constanza, who has earned widespread high marks of late for his play at numerous top-flight showcases in high school basketball, such as the City of Palms Classic in Fort Myers, Fla., and Flyin’ To The Hoop in Kettering, Ohio, among others.

When I wrote this article, all of the main recruiting Web sites had Constanza in the top 11 overall, the top six at small forward and the top two in Florida.

At the time of this writing, the industry-generated 247Sports Composite rated him at No. 6 nationally, while the industry-generated On3 Industry Ranking put Constanza at No. 8 overall.

I do believe that Constanza is a legit contender for the No. 1 national ranking in his class, but he’ll have to overtake some other elite prospects.

Over at ESPN, the No. 1 player is five-star power forward Tyran Stokes of Prolific Prep in Napa Valley, Calif., and checking in at No. 2 is five-star point guard Brandon McCoy of the St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, Calif.

Constanza’s growing offer sheet, his dad has told me, also includes squads such as Florida Gulf Coast, Georgia, Ole Miss, LSU, Mississippi State, Washington, St. John’s, Florida, Miami, Florida State, Alabama, Dayton, Creighton, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Arizona State, Auburn and Illinois.

Kentucky, Michigan State, Indiana and Oregon are among those teams showing an interest in Constanza, who is excited about the ‘Cuse offer and is a prospect to monitor for a possible visit to Syracuse basketball in the future.