Syracuse basketball gets into the mix for 5-star Canadian Paul Osaruyi, No. 1 center

Per his Instagram page, elite 2027 big man and Canadian native Paul Osaruyi received a scholarship offer from Syracuse basketball not too long ago.

The 6-foot-9 Osaruyi is listed as five stars and a top-five national prospect in his class by several recruiting services. He's also deemed either the No. 1 power forward or the No. 1 center in the 2027 cycle by some recruiting Web sites.

Osaruyi is a sophomore at CIA Bella Vista in Phoenix, a powerhouse program that is a member of the country's top high school hoops conference, the 14-member Nike Elite Youth Basketball League Scholastic ("EYBL Scholastic").

In their recently published national preseason top 25 ahead of the 2024-25 season, the experts at The Circuit placed CIA Bella Vista at No. 19 overall.

Other schools in the EYBL Scholastic include the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., and Long Island Lutheran High School in Brookville, N.Y. Syracuse basketball 2025 five-star commit Sadiq White Jr. is a senior at IMG, while Orange 2025 four-star priority recruit Kiyan Anthony is a senior at Long Island Lutheran.

Syracuse basketball has offered 2027 five-star big man Paul Osaruyi.

Per his Instagram page and recruiting services, Osaruyi holds early scholarship offers from the 'Cuse, Arizona State, Georgia Tech, Oklahoma State and California State University, Northridge ("CSUN").

Osaruyi, who hails from Scarborough, Ontario, will receive many more offers during his recruitment. For one, he's a top-flight prospect in his class. Also, college coaches can't begin initiating direct communication with 2027 players until June 15 of next year.

On the AAU circuit, Osaruyi runs with the Phoenix-based Arizona Unity in Nike's EYBL league. In late August, Osaruyi discussed the early stages of his recruiting process and what he's looking for in a future college program when he chatted with top national analyst/scout Jamie Shaw of On3.

Within the 2027 class, ESPN and Rivals.com rank Osaruyi as the No. 5 overall player. He's No. 6 via the industry-generated On3 Industry Ranking. By extension, On3 has Osaruyi as the No. 1 power forward, while he's the top-ranked center in the 2027 cycle, per ESPN.

Besides Osaruyi, Syracuse basketball coaches have offered a couple of other 2027 prospects. In late June of this year, for example, the Orange staff offered scholarships to five-star forward Baba Oladotun of James Hubert Blake High School in Silver Spring, Md., and four-star power forward Zion Green of the Imhotep Institute Charter High School in Philadelphia.