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College basketball's way-too-early top 25 for 2024 – 247Sports
UConn brought the 2022-23 season to a close with Monday night’s 76-59 national championship game win over San Diego State. And despite facing rosters that seem to turn over by the hour thanks to NBA Draft declarations and the transfer portal, that means it’s time for our annual Way-Too-Early rankings for the next college basketball season.
As always, it takes a village at 247Sports. College basketball writers Kevin Flaherty and Isaac Trotter had final say on the rankings, but they were formed after conversations with team site publishers, network experts and our outstanding recruiting analysts.
When projecting next year’s rosters, we left off projected first-round picks, except when there’s intel that said players could be returning. The inverse is also true: if a player isn’t a projected first-round pick, but the buzz has said player leaving school and not returning, that player is omitted.
These rankings will be updated throughout the offseason as major changes occur.
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Without further ado, here’s a look at our Way-Too-Early picks for the 2023-24 season.
Projected lineup: Tyrese Proctor, Jared McCain, Mackenzie Mgbako, Mark Mitchell, Kyle Filipowski
247Sports recruiting class rank: No. 2
Keep an eye on: Filipowski, Jeremy Roach, transfer center
Filipowski is a real option to return to Durham, so that reflects here. If Roach returns, this group gets even more loaded, and expect the Blue Devils to go guns blazing after a more traditional five man that would allow Duke to bump Filipowski down to the four. Proctor and Filipowski could be among the nation’s best players in 2023-24, and the Blue Devils’ recruiting class isn’t just 247Sports’ second best, it’s 1) a group with a strong roster and stylistic fit and 2) they won’t be asked to carry a team that has that returning talent. When you’re rolling out players like Caleb Foster, Sean Stewart and potentially Mgbako or McCain as backups, you’re going to be among the nation’s most talented teams. And this year, Duke has an intersection between elite talent and players who earned experience playing for Jon Scheyer a year ago.
Projected lineup: Tyler Kolek, Stevie Mitchell, Kam Jones, Olivier-Maxence Prosper, Oso Ighodaro
247Sports recruiting class rank: No. 23
Keep an eye on: Will anybody jump?
Yep, that’s right: Marquette can return all five starters (three of whom were sophomores) from a team that won the Big East regular season and tournament titles. In Marquette’s season-ending loss, the Golden Eagles played two juniors, four sophomores and three freshmen, a group that helped Marquette to 29 wins and a top 10 finish on statistics website KenPom. Will any of those players decide to move on? And how can/will Shaka Smart fill any potential roster holes? Marquette was awfully strong this past season, but the Golden Eagles still had flaws. Perhaps some of that gets ironed out in natural offseason development.
Projected lineup: (Tristen Newton), Stephon Castle, Andre Jackson, Alex Karaban, Adama Sanogo
247Sports recruiting class rank: No. 4
Keep an eye on: Newton’s extra year
The defending national champion Huskies do not have a senior starter other than Newton, who still has an extra year of eligibility. They project to lose Jordan Hawkins to the NBA Draft (potentially in the lottery), and there’s always the chance that one or two others elect to go pro, or that key rotational players could transfer. A top five recruiting class doesn’t just yield Castle, 247Sports’ No. 9 overall player and a five-star prospect, but it attacks UConn’s need for more wings. Even if a player like Sanogo decides to leave by striking while the iron’s hot, that simply opens up more minutes for a player like Donovan Clingan. This is a pretty loaded group for Dan Hurley, but they’ll face a lot of competition in the Big East.
*Parentheses are players with an extra year of eligibility remaining from COVID-19.
Projected lineup: Ryan Nembhard, Trey Alexander, (Baylor Scheierman), Arthur Kaluma, Ryan Kalkbrenner
247Sports recruiting class rank: No. 99
Keep an eye on: Scheierman, or a Scheierman replacement in the portal
See what we mean about the Big East? Creighton could return all five starters from a team that finished a shot away from the Final Four. Kalkbrenner, Kaluma and Scheierman all project as potential second-round picks right now, so it’ll be interesting to see if any of them go, or whether all of them decide to stay in Omaha. Even if, say, one of the group decides to go, Creighton should have enough firepower to make up for the absence. And the Bluejays already have their first transfer addition in Nebraska native and Virginia transfer Isaac Traudt, a 6-foot-10 forward who was a top 100 recruit in 2022.
Projected lineup: Jamal Shead, Emanuel Sharp, Ramon Walker, Terrance Arceneaux, J’Wan Roberts
247Sports recruiting class rank: No. 18
Keep an eye on: Potential transfers at the three and four spots
Tramon Mark putting his name in for the NBA Draft and entering the transfer portal knocked the Cougars down a few spots here, but not by much. Remember: just two years ago, Shead led a Mark and Marcus Sasser-less Houston team to the Elite Eight. Sharp could be the next really good Houston guard, and Walker will be back from injury after playing just 10 games a season ago. Roberts is another returning starter and will team with Ja’Vier Francis to give the team continued physicality around the rim, while Arceneaux could be in for a sophomore leap. Houston does what Houston does; the Cougars should be awfully good again, this time in the Big 12.
247Sports recruiting class rank: No. 69
Keep an eye on: Zach Edey
For the purpose of these rankings, Edey projects to return to school after he averaged 22.3 points, 12.9 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game and won National Player of the Year. And with another year’s experience, the guards around Edey may be better equipped to make plays when teams sag on Edey in key moments. Remember: Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer were just freshmen last year. And neither Ethan Morton nor Mason Gillis connected at the percentages they did before from deep. If that quartet, along with some other Purdue reserves who can return in 2023-24 step up and make shots when it matters most, the Boilermakers can put this year’s early exit behind them and reach the second weekend of next year’s NCAA Tournament, if not go further.
247Sports recruiting class rank: No. 25
Keep an eye on: Dylan Disu, transfer point guard
If Disu hadn’t gotten hurt, Texas likely would have reached the Final Four and would have been a tough out, even with the way UConn played. Now he has a decision to make. If he comes back and carries over his momentum from the postseason, Texas will be awfully tough to beat. Tyrese Hunter is testing the NBA Draft waters but seems likely to return, and Texas seems likely to find a transfer point guard to help relieve some of the ball-handling burden. Arterio Morris and Dillon Mitchell are sophomore jump candidates, Brock Cunningham comes up with big plays in key moments and five-star forward Ron Holland looks like a hand-in-glove fit.
247Sports recruiting class rank: No. 74
Keep an eye on: NIL
Jim Larrañaga and Miami talked about how it benefitted the Hurricanes to be up front with their NIL stylings after landing Nijel Pack thanks to a two-year, $800K deal. That same NIL could be what keeps together most of the core from this year’s team: guards Pack, Isaiah Wong, Wooga Poplar — who Larrañaga said looks ready for his own stardom — and Norchad Omier. Four returning starters, including the backcourt heartbeat from a Final Four team is a pretty nice base, and if the Hurricanes can find some sort of replacement for the departing Jordan Miller, potentially through another big transfer portal score, the Hurricanes will be as dangerous as ever.
247Sports recruiting class rank: No. 27
Keep an eye on: Ricky Council IV, Eric Musselman in the portal
Musselman told CBS Sports a year ago that he looked more to freshmen because of diminishing returns in the transfer portal. But that didn’t stop him from landing two potential impact transfers last year in Council and Trevon Brazile, a big piece before suffering a season-ending injury. Both could be back this year, along with Devo Davis and Jordan Walsh, who had some terrific defensive moments down the stretch. Getting two top-30 players in point guard Layden Blocker and center Baye Fall helps, and one can expect Musselman to do his usual damage in the portal. So Arkansas should once again bring a long, athletic team that will be a pain in March.
247Sports recruiting class rank: N/A
Keep an eye on: What can the Owls do for an encore?
This is a bit of a different question than the other top 10 teams. The Owls can bring back all five starters and seven players who started at least 15 games for a team that went 35-4 and finished a buzzer beater away from the national championship game. Key reserve Michael Forrest might be the only player to depart, meaning Dusty May has one spot to potentially improve a stacked roster that includes multiple potential honors candidates, including Johnell Davis and Alijah Martin. Returning so much from a team that finished 17th on KenPom, this ranking could be too conservative.
11. UCLA
247Sports recruiting class rank: No. 14
Jaylen Clark’s recovery timetable could put him back on the court in December or so, seemingly making it more likely that he returns to school as he won’t be able to work out for NBA teams. Should he do so, with former five-star players like Amari Bailey and Adem Bona potentially returning as well, along with classmate Dylan Andrews and super senior Kenneth Nwuba, Mick Cronin could have another team capable of a deep run.
12. Michigan State
247Sports recruiting class rank: No. 3
The Spartans have some major decisions to watch on potential super seniors, guys like Tyson Walker and Malik Hall. Bringing back both would make this ranking too low for the Spartans, who should bring back talented backcourt pair AJ Hoggard and Jaden Akins and could get plus frontcourt play from returnees like Mady Sissoko, Jaxon Kohler, Carson Cooper and five-star freshman Xavier Booker, 247Sports’ No. 10 ranked player.
13. Kansas
247Sports recruiting class rank: No. 5
Keep an eye on Kevin McCullar, who likely tests the waters, but projects as a late second round pick; Kansas has had success of late churning those types into big-time players after they returned (Ochai Agbaji, Jalen Wilson). Dajuan Harris and KJ Adams were the Big 12’s Defensive Player of the Year and Most Improved Player, respectively, while Ernest Udeh could push for a starting spot at the five, displacing Adams. The portal will be huge here, and blue-chip freshman guard Elmarko Jackson figures to hit the ground running.
14. Gonzaga
247Sports recruiting class rank: No. 36
Will this be the year that the Bulldogs fail to reach the Sweet 16 after reaching it eight straight years? That’ll depend on two big COVID decisions by Anton Watson and Malachi Smith, the development of players like Nolan Hickman and Ben Gregg and the Bulldogs’ usual level of activity in the transfer portal.
15. Alabama
247Sports recruiting class rank: No. 17
Both Jahvon Quinerly and Charles Bediako declared for the draft but said they were leaving things open for a return; we’d expect at least Bediako to return. And Alabama looks like it should have a pretty solid roster around him, with Jaden Bradley and Mark Sears at the guards, Rylan Griffen looking like a potential star and the addition of Jaykwon Walton from Wichita State. Nate Oats and company should get after it in the portal as well.
16. Arizona
247Sports recruiting class rank: No. 71
The Wildcats’ stunning loss to Princeton in the first round overshadowed how good this team was, a roster that could feasibly return both Azuolas Tubelis and Oumar Ballo, but figures to bring back at least one of the two. Add in Pelle Larsson, Kylan Boswell and some of the names Arizona is linked with in the transfer portal, and the Wildcats should be among the Pac-12’s best again.
17. Baylor
247Sports recruiting class rank: No. 28
LJ Cryer will test the NBA Draft waters, but also put his name in the transfer portal, likely indicating that he’ll move on from Waco. Expect a transfer guard then to pair with Langston Love and five-star freshman Ja’Kobe Walter to form another lethal backcourt (Adam Flagler could also choose to return). It seems likely Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua will use his extra year as well, and Jalen Bridges had some big moments in his first year in Waco and could also become an All-Big 12 candidate.
18. Tennessee
247Sports recruiting class rank: No. 16
The Volunteers’ roster is in a state of flux with several key players left to make decisions on their extra years of eligibility: Josiah-Jordan James, Uros Plavsic and Santiago Vescovi. Zakai Zeigler should be back from a torn ACL, and players like Jahmai Mashack, Tobe Awaka and Jonas Aidoo can boost this team by upgrading their games this offseason.
19. TCU
247Sports recruiting class rank: No. 50
The blow of losing Mike Miles Jr. was somewhat alleviated by bringing in Jameer Nelson Jr., who averaged 20.6 points per game at Delaware. He will not be the only transfer get for the Horned Frogs, who bring back Micah Peavy and Xavier Cork and could return Damion Baugh and Emanuel Miller for their COVID seasons.
20. Saint Mary’s
247Sports recruiting class rank: No. 69
The Gaels finished in KenPom’s top 15, have an excellent coach in Randy Bennett, and oh yeah, a future star in Aidan Mahaney, who was pretty terrific as a freshman. Take Mahaney, add in Mitchell Saxen and Augustas Marciulionis and Saint Mary’s should once again have terrific guard play and a tough defense.
21. Missouri
247Sports recruiting class rank: No. 22
Expect Kobe Brown to come back, giving Missouri a nice chunk of its returning production from a team that reached the second round in Dennis Gates’ first year. Landing John Tonje is another offensive weapon, and a good-sized wild card is the potential re-addition of Isiaih Mosley, who could be full-go in 2023-24.
22. Texas A&M
247Sports recruiting class rank: No. 80
The Aggies ranked 11th in adjusted efficiency from Jan. 1-on, according to statistics website BartTorvik, and could return four starters from said team, which finished second in the SEC. Tyrece Redford said he might return, which would allow him to pair with Wade Taylor IV as one of the nation’s best backcourts, while Henry Coleman and Julius Marble are back to patrol the frontcourt.
23. North Carolina
247Sports recruiting class rank: No. 31
With R.J. Davis and Armando Bacot coming back and Caleb Love moving on, the Tar Heels may be a bit more balanced this season. Spacing around those two will once again be key; North Carolina could be among the nation’s most important teams to watch in the transfer portal.
24. Maryland
247Sports recruiting class rank: No. 15
Donta Scott’s decision is pending, but bringing back Jahmir Young and Julian Reese is huge, paired with a good freshman class and a likely active run in the transfer portal. Keep an eye on Kevin Willard’s pursuit of a certain assistant coach (VIP) that could give the Terrapins more striking power in the portal and in recruiting.
25. Colorado
247Sports recruiting class rank: No. 19
The Buffaloes can bring back four starters, including twin 15.9 point per game scorers Tristan Da Silva and KJ Simpson, while adding five-star wing Cody Williams, the No. 8 overall player, and TCU transfer Eddie Lampkin. 2022-23’s lumps could turn into 2023-24’s wins.
Auburn — Wendell Green Jr. moving on means more burden on freshman point guard Aden Holloway, the No. 24 overall player. He’ll be aided by returnees KJ Johnson and Johni Broome, but the portal will be key.
Illinois — The Fighting Illini will have some work to do in the transfer portal, but have some interesting young pieces around Coleman Hawkins and Dain Dainja, who were starting together by season’s end.
Indiana — The hope is that the Hoosiers get a medical redshirt for Xavier Johnson, and with Trey Galloway and a year’s development from Malik Reneau, Indiana has enough pieces to build around in the portal.
Iowa State — We know T.J. Otzelberger’s bunch will defend at a high level, and Tamin Lipsey had some terrific moments as a freshman point guard. Add in two top 32 recruits, including five-star Omaha Biliew, and the Cyclones should reach the NCAA Tournament again.
Kansas State — The Wildcats look to return three starters from this year’s team: Cam Carter, Nae’Qwan Tomlin and David N’Guessan and adds in a solid recruiting class with three four-star prospects. Watch both the portal and redshirt freshman Taj Manning.
Kentucky — The Wildcats should get Antonio Reeves and CJ Fredrick back, but lose a number of key pieces. The good news is Kentucky brings in 247Sports’ top-ranked recruiting class. But Kentucky will need to land some haymakers in the portal for more proven players.
Ohio State — Brice Sensabaugh kept the door ever so slightly ajar for returning, and while he’s likely gone, the Buckeyes have a nice combination of young talent and a top 10 recruiting class. A bounce-back season could be in the cards for Chris Holtmann’s crew.
Oregon — Kel’el Ware leaving stings; if he puts it all together, he’s a potential lottery pick. The Ducks do bring in two top 25 players, though their ceiling will determine on how well Dana Altman can get players to mesh with Oregon’s likely returnees.
Providence — Kim English getting Devin Carter and Bryce Hopkins back means the Friars are looking less like a rebuild in 2023-24 and more like a reload. Don’t be surprised if Providence climbs into the top 25.
Rutgers — Cliff Omoruyi and Paul Mulcahy are testing the NBA Draft waters, and Aundre Hyatt has a decision to make. If those decisions go the Scarlet Knights’ way, along with bringing back Derek Simpson and a healthy Mawot Mag, look out.
San Diego State — If San Diego State brings back who we think the Aztecs could: Darrion Trammell, Lamont Butler, Micah Parrish and Jaedon LeDee, San Diego State would likely jump into the rankings themselves. Keep an eye on Miles Byrd.
USC — Vincent Iwuchukwu saw his freshman year derailed by health and injury concerns. A healthy Iwuchukwu joined by 247Sports’ top-ranked freshman in Isaiah Collier, plus some talented players around them could equal a strong season.
Utah State — Ryan Odom heading to VCU leaves the Aggies without a coach. But if the new coach can keep Steven Ashworth and Max Shulga in the backcourt, they’ll have a pretty nice foundation to start from.
Villanova — Justin Moore coming back puts the Wildcats in a strong spot heading into portal season. Eric Dixon making the same position would strengthen this team even more, and if Mark Armstrong and Jordan Longino can take steps forward, Villanova could be dangerous.
Xavier — Jerome Hunter and Zach Freemantle have extra years to use if they choose, and Desmond Claude and Kam Craft could be ready for their close-ups. As is the case with so many of these teams, the transfer portal will tell the tale.
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