Syracuse Basketball: ‘Cuse offers 5-star, top-5 national prospect Alex Constanza

Syracuse basketball is getting into the recruiting fray for one of the top players across the country in the 2026 class.

A source tells me that the Orange coaching staff has extended an offer to five-star Alex Constanza, a standout sophomore at the Westminster Academy in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Allen Griffin, an assistant coach with the ‘Cuse, is the lead recruiter for the 6-foot-8 Constanza, who is a consensus top-15 national prospect in his class.

Although recruiting services list him as a small forward, Constanza’s dad, Ed Constanza, tells me that his son can play point guard, shooting guard and small forward.

Ed Constanza told me in a recent phone interview that his son is “very excited” about the Syracuse basketball offer, and he “absolutely” has an interest in visiting the Orange program at some point.

Syracuse basketball has offered elite 2026 prospect Alex Constanza.

Players in the 2026 cycle are able to take unofficial visits to college campuses, and they may start taking official visits beginning on August 1 of this year.

What’s more, on June 15, the contact period opens up for prospects in the sophomore class, meaning at that time college coaches can begin initiating direct communication with these players.

Despite the contact period for the 2026 class not currently open, Constanza has a ton of high-major offers, according to his dad.

Constanza’s offer sheet includes 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.

Ed Constanza says that his son is also receiving interest from college squads such as Kentucky, Michigan State, Indiana and Oregon.

During the most recent AAU season, Alex Constanza received high marks from national analysts and scouts for his performances while competing for the 15U team of the Miami-based Nightrydas Elite in Nike’s EYBL league.

In the current 2023-24 season, Constanza is playing well for the Westminster Academy, which is flirting with a national top-25 ranking from MaxPreps.

Last month, at the loaded City of Palms Classic in Fort Myers, Fla., Constanza was named one of the top performers by Paul Biancardi, the recruiting director for ESPN.

Joe Tipton, a national analyst with On3, was on hand for the City of Palms Classic. In three separate articles, Tipton praised Constanza for his play against some of the best teams nationwide.

Here are two separate sets of comments from Tipton on Constanza:
“… he has an excellent frame to build on, rebounds well, can handle when needed, and is an unselfish player. A lot of upside here and definitely someone in the 2026 class to keep an eye on.”

“… he can really shoot it, can defend bigger players, and can create offense when needed.”

When I wrote this column, all of the primary recruiting Web sites had Constanza in the top 11 overall in the 2026 class.

On3 has Constanza at No. 5 nationally. Both of the industry-generated rating systems, the 247Sports Composite and the On3 Industry Ranking, rank him in the top 8 overall, the top 5 at small forward and the top 2 in Florida.

By my count, Syracuse basketball has offered eight 2026 prospects, with the others being four-star guard Imahri Wooten, five-star shooting guard Jordan Smith Jr., four-star point guard Deron Rippey Jr., three-star point guard Neiko Mundey, five-star small forward Maximo Adams, shooting guard/small forward Prince-Alexander Moody, and point guard Anthony Brown.