Syracuse Basketball: 5-star DMV target named first-team All-American for his class

Baba Oladotun, an elite prospect from the talent-laden Washington, D.C., metropolitan region who holds an offer from Syracuse basketball coaches, is a first-team All-American for his class.

The 6-foot-9, 195-pound combo guard/forward, who is ranked No. 1 across the country in the 2027 cycle by several recruiting services, put forth a stellar sophomore campaign in the 2024-25 season for James Hubert Blake High School in Silver Spring, Md.

On the AAU circuit, Oladotun suits up for the Oxon Hill, Md.-based Team Durant in Nike's EYBL league. As we've discussed on many occasions, the Orange coaching staff has deep recruiting ties to the DMV.

Naturally, though, the competition to prevail in Oladotun's recruitment will prove steep. According to 247Sports, he already boasts close to 30 offers. The 'Cuse offered Oladotun a scholarship in late June of last year.

Syracuse basketball five-star recruit Baba Oladotun has received a national honor.

Per MaxPreps, as a sophomore in 2024-25, Oladotun averaged an impressive 22.5 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.8 steals per game in helping lead Blake to a 23-2 overall record. For his efforts, MaxPreps named him to its 2024-25 sophomore All-America first team.

Beyond the Orange, Oladotun's offer sheet includes schools such as Maryland, Arkansas, Florida State, Georgetown, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Louisville, Michigan, Ohio State, Rutgers, Southern California, Tennessee, UCLA, Villanova and Virginia Tech, among many others.

Undeniably, his offer list will grow this summer, as college coaches can start initiating direct communications with 2027 prospects on June 15.

Not too long ago, when the 2024-25 Naismith All-America teams got disclosed, several Syracuse basketball four-star and five-star targets landed honorable mention nods, including Oladotun.

I noted in another recent column that MaxPreps has named 'Cuse priority recruit Jordan Smith Jr. its national junior of the year for the 2024-25 term. Smith, a 2026 five-star shooting guard and top-five national prospect in his class, has unofficially visited the Hill and holds an offer from the Orange staff.

Smith, as a junior in 2024-25, averaged 18.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and 4.0 assists per encounter for the nationally ranked St. Paul VI Catholic High School in Chantilly, Va., another top-flight program in the DMV.

In early March, Smith was named to the 2024-25 Naismith All-America third team.