Syracuse basketball scores top 8 of 4-star Acaden Lewis, who plans to officially visit

Syracuse basketball remains in contention for 2025 four-star guard Acaden Lewis, who in recent months has proven one of the hottest prospects around the country in the rising high school senior class.

On Monday, according to multiple media reports, the 6-foot-3 Lewis disclosed a top eight of the Orange, Kentucky, two-time defending national champion UConn, North Carolina, Duke, Tennessee, Michigan and Auburn.

That's quite a list. Understandably, the 'Cuse staff will face a tall task in trying to prevail for the talented guard from Washington, D.C. At the same time, it's highly encouraging that the Orange is in his top eight, considering the other heavyweight programs on Lewis' list.

Dating back to the spring, Lewis has played at an ultra-high level on the AAU circuit and at other recent showcases. That has fueled a surge in his list of offers, while he has also skyrocketed of late in the 2025 national rankings.

Syracuse basketball resides in the top eight of 2025 four-star guard Acaden Lewis.

Lewis picked up a scholarship offer from the 'Cuse in late April of this year. In various interviews since then, he has said he wants to visit Syracuse basketball, something that I've confirmed independently through people I talk to in the recruiting world.

To that end, top writer Charlie Parent, in a piece on zagsblog.com that came out on Monday, wrote that "Lewis aims to commit sometime in the fall, but plans to take official visits to all eight schools before announcing his decision."

Lewis' recruitment has absolutely blown up. Since the start of June, he has received offers from impressive suitors such as UConn, Duke, North Carolina, Kansas, Kentucky, Miami, Tennessee, Indiana and Auburn.

Earlier in his recruitment, Lewis had officially visited Virginia and Florida State, while he also went on unofficial visits to Georgetown and Virginia Tech. None of those schools made his top eight.

More recently, Lewis has unofficially visited Kentucky, UConn and North Carolina. For the Orange to make his list cut, even though Lewis has yet to visit Central New York, is a positive sign, but let me reiterate that the competition is unbelievably intense in this recruiting battle.

Then again, ever since the Syracuse basketball staff offered him in late April, 'Cuse coaches have recruited him hard, leading me to believe that Lewis is one of the top targets for the Orange program in the 2025 class.

Lewis, who has jumped into the top 40 nationally and is trending toward a five-star prospect in his cycle, is a rising senior standout at the Sidwell Friends School in D.C. On the AAU circuit, he is a star for the 17U squad of the Oxon Hill, Md.-based Team Durant in Nike’s EYBL league.

In May, amid a live period when the EYBL held a session in Indianapolis, Syracuse basketball head coach Adrian Autry was on hand for Lewis. In late June, the Orange was in the house for Lewis at the Philly Live event, as he suited up for Sidwell Friends during a scholastic live period.

It's understandable to think that Syracuse basketball could prove a long shot to win out for Lewis, but the first step was to make his list cut. That's occurred. Now, the 'Cuse staff has to get him on campus for an official visit and go from there.