Syracuse basketball coaches have reached out to the younger brother of a former Duke standout who just got picked in the lottery of the 2025 NBA Draft.
Per top national writer Sam Lance, in a post on X, the Orange has communicated with 2027 four-star guard/wing Kager Knueppel from Wisconsin since the contact period for this cycle opened on June 15.
Per Lance, Toledo has offered the 6-foot-9, 205-pound Knueppel, while he's heard from Syracuse basketball, Marquette, BYU, Notre Dame, Bradley, Western Michigan and New Mexico State.
The schools to reach out to ‘27 four-star small forward Kager Knueppel (@KnueppelKager) since the contact period opened on June 15:
— Sam Lance (@slancehoops) July 15, 2025
Toledo (offer)
Marquette
Syracuse
BYU
Notre Dame
Bradley
Western Michigan
New Mexico State
Younger brother of No. 4 overall pick Kon Knueppel. pic.twitter.com/KFHCke7MtO
His older brother is guard/wing Kon Knueppel, who was a 2024 five-star prospect and had an excellent freshman season for the Blue Devils. Last month, at the 2025 NBA Draft, the elder Knueppel was selected No. 4 overall by the Charlotte Hornets.
Syracuse basketball is heavy in Wisconsin these days.
Kager Knueppel is a rising junior at Wisconsin Lutheran High School in Milwaukee. In the 2024-25 campaign, his high school program won the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association ("WIAA") Division 1 state championship and finished 28-2 overall.
On the AAU circuit, he has suited up for the 16U squad of the Milwaukee-based Team Herro in Nike's EYBL league.
Knueppel, this spring and summer, is playing alongside two other Team Herro prospect who, this week, landed scholarship offers from the 'Cuse. They are four-star guard/wing Dooney Johnson of Milwaukee Juneau High School and four-star power forward Donovan Davis of Freedom High School in Freedom, Wis.
In the 16U division, Team Herro has sported an impressive 11-1 mark. The EYBL's season-ending Peach Jam is transpiring in North Augusta, S.C., and Team Herro's first game at Peach Jam is on July 16.
So far in the Nike league, Knueppel is averaging 9.2 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.8 assists per contest while making better than 40 percent from beyond the arc.
Within the 2027 class, Rivals has him at No. 92 overall. Both the industry-generated 247Sports Composite and the industry-generated Rivals Industry Ranking place Knueppel in the top 115 nationally and the No. 5 prospect from the Badger State.
To date, I'm aware of at least 13 players in the 2027 cycle who have received a scholarship offer from the Orange staff. Since the 2027 contact period opened in mid-June, 'Cuse coaches have reached out to dozens of rising high school juniors, including Knueppel.
Wouldn't it be fun if Knueppel ended up playing for Syracuse basketball and helped the Orange defeat Duke, his older brother's alma mater, in the future?