Talented guard Luke Fennell, a Syracuse basketball commit, elevated to 4-star status

Luke Fennell, who verbally committed to Syracuse basketball in its 2025 class last month, has received a rankings boost, and deservingly so.

The 6-foot-6, 190-pound Fennell, a versatile point guard/shooting guard, announced his verbal pledge to the Orange on October 23. Per media reports, he held scholarship offers from other schools such as California, Florida, Louisville and St. Bonaventure.

Fennell, who hails from Melbourne, Australia, is now four stars, according to 247Sports. That rating isn't a surprise to me, based on what analysts and scouts have said about Fennell's skill set following his commitment to Syracuse basketball.

When I wrote this column, within the 2025 cycle, 247Sports placed Fennell at No. 124 overall, No. 23 at shooting guard and No. 3 in Australia.

Syracuse basketball 2025 commit Luke Fennell has moved to four stars.

For the 2024-25 season, Fennell is playing for the South East Melbourne Phoenix, which is a member of the National Basketball League ("NBL"), a professional league with teams in Australia and New Zealand.

The industry-generated 247Sports Composite, at the time of this writing, rated Fennell as three stars, No. 159 overall, No. 27 at shooting guard and No. 3 in Australia. Over at On3, he checks in as three stars and the No. 27 point guard in the senior class.

I'd imagine that as more analysts and scouts are able to watch Fennell play, he could easily jump to four stars across the board and within the top 100 overall of the 2025 cycle.

To date, the 'Cuse coaching staff has landed three verbal pledges in its 2025 class. Besides Fennell, the Orange's verbal commitments in this cycle are from five-star forward Sadiq White Jr. of the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., and three-star wing Aaron Womack of Dominican High School in Whitefish Bay, Wis.

The Syracuse basketball staff will also find out later this week if it has prevailed for 2025 four-star shooting guard Kiyan Anthony of Long Island Lutheran High School in Brookville, N.Y. The Orange has analyst buzz for Anthony on recruiting Web sites, and he will make his commitment announcement on Friday, Nov. 15.

The 'Cuse three-member 2025 class is No. 16 overall via the 247Sports Composite, No. 25 nationally via Rivals.com, and No. 57 overall via the On3 Web site.

A verbal pledge by Anthony to Syracuse basketball this Friday would certainly bolster the team's 2025 cycle, as he is a top-30 national prospect in the senior class.