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Villanova basketball recruiting updates for the Class of 2025 – VU Hoops
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After Kyle Neptune and Co. locked up three 2024 commits in a 10-day stretch, the recruiting trail moves onto the 2025 class.
Kyle Neptune and staff endured a busy 2024 recruiting cycle – leading to three commitments in the span of 10 days earlier this month.
However, there’s little time to celebrate as efforts have shifted quickly (or concurrently) to the Class of 2025.
Here’s our first look into the Class of 2025 and there are already 16 players who have been offered. Given how quick things move, we’ll provide more frequent updates here as things develop.
As mentioned in the past, most of the information below has been sourced from recruiting websites (247 Sports, On3, Rivals, etc) or social media (players or analysts posts). While everything below has a source – there’s a chance something is missing. If anyone has other information, we’re happy to edit and include going forward.
Rating: 4-Star (247 Sports: 21 | on3: 34 )
Hometown: Manasquan, N.J.
High School: La Lumiere School
AAU: PSA Cardinals
Height: 6-3
Weight: 155
Offer date: June 15
Status: Offered
Other offers: Florida, Florida State, Indiana, Kansas, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State Penn State, Providence, Rutgers, Seton Hall, St. Johns, Syracuse, Tennessee, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Washington, Xavier
The skinny: Adams is a highly ranked combo guard hailing from Manasquan, N.J. who will be attending La Lumiere School in Indiana this fall. Villanova offered him in the early summer, right as he was averaging 17 points per game for PSA Cardinals’ U-16 team. A recent article with Rivals mentions that Villanova was in to see him recently. There’s a connection with Matthew Hodge – both being a part of the PSA AAU program and living a town apart from each other in New Jersey. Adams mentions taking his time in his recruitment, but this will be one to keep an eye on.
Rating: 4-Star (247 Sports: 66 | on3: 75 )
Hometown: Bradenton, Fla.
High School: IMG Academy
AAU: Wisconsin Playground Club
Height: 6-7
Weight: 180
Offer date: September 7th
Status: Offered
Other offers: Arizona State, Auburn, Creighton Florida State, Georgetown, Georgia Tech, Green Bay, Indiana, Iowa, Marquette, Minnesota, Mississippi State, Penn State, Saint Louis, TCU, Tennessee, USF, West Virginia,
The skinny: Amari Allen is one of Villanova’s latest 2025 offers and currently plays for IMG Academy. There isn’t much Villanova news on this recruiting front given how recent the offer is, but we’ll be able to get a closer eye throughout the high school season given he’s playing for a national powerhouse.
Rating: 4-Star (247 Sports: 76 | on3: 62 )
Hometown: Miami, Fla.
High School: Riviera Preparatory School
AAU: Nightrydas Elite
Height: 6-3
Weight: 210
Offer date: June 20th
Status: Offered
Other offers: Creighton, Florida Gulf Coast, LSU, Illinois, Miami, Michigan, Memphis, Georgetown, UCF
The skinny: No apparent relation to the above, Dante Allen is a high impact combo guard from Miami who shined on a loaded Nightrydas AAU team this past summer, where he was the second leading scorer for the squad at Peach Jam. Villanova offered Dante back in June and it’s logical to think they’ll stay close with him throughout his recruitment. On top of being a stellar player, Villanova fans will recognize his father, Malik Allen, as an All-Big East selection, NBA pro for 10+ years, and current assistant with the Miami Heat. A Rivals article features Dante speaking highly of the Cats.
Rating: 4-Star (247 Sports: 74 | on3: 74 )
Hometown: Washington, DC
High School: Gonzaga
AAU: Team Takeover
Height: 6-4
Weight: 190
Offer date: July 11th
Status: Offered
Other offers: Bryant, East Carolina, Fordham, George Mason, George Washington, Iowa, Kansas State, Maryland, Miami, Mississippi State, Norfolk State, Penn State, Pitt, Providence, St. Joe’s, Syracuse, Virginia, Virigina Tech, West Virginia, Xavier
The skinny: Dixon is another combo guard Kyle Neptune has his eyes on. Derek is from the DMV and plays for teams Villanova fans are likely familiar with – Gonzaga High School (Kris Jenkins) and Team Takeover (Justin Moore, Brandon Slater, Cam Whitmore). Dixon had an excellent summer – being one of the top playmakers on the Nike AAU Circuit as he was fourth in total points (scored and assisted). It looks like he’ll be headed to campus for hoops mania for an unofficial visit.
Rating: 4-Star (247 Sports: 122 | on3: 54 )
Hometown: Pittsburgh, Pa.
High School: Overtime Elite
AAU: NH Lightning
Height: 6-5
Weight: 204
Offer date: July 12th
Status: Offered
Other offers: Bryant, Cal Poly, LIU, Manhattan, Marquette, Oklahoma State, Penn State, Providence, Robert Morris, Sam Houston State, Tennessee, Xavier
The skinny: Evans is a self described “two-way wing” who can “most importantly, defend every position”. Originally from Pittsburgh, he recently made the move to Overtime Elite and will maintain his college eligibility. He possibly had the biggest summer of anyone on this list – as On3 gave him the highest jump in their updated rankings, going from 116 to 53. He averaged 16.5 points and 2.8 assists on Nike EYBL U-16 Circuit.
Rating: 5-Star (247 Sports: 7 | on3: 6 )
Hometown: Pocatello, Idaho
High School: Wasatch Academy
AAU: Utah Prospects
Height: 6-5
Weight: 190
Offer date: April 23rd
Status: Offered
Other offers: Alabama, Arizona State, Auburn, Baylor, Cal, Cal Poly, Creighton, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Gonzaga, Houston, Kansas, Kansas State, Miami , Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi State, Ohio State, Ole Miss, Providence, St. John’s, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, UCLA, UNC, UNLV, Washington State
The skinny: Harwell is one of the most sought-after recruits in the 2025 class if the nearly 30 D-I offers above didn’t give it away. Villanova offered Isiah back in the spring and since then he helped his AAU team, Utah Prospects, capture the Adidas 17U National Championship on the Adidas 3SSB circuit. On top of that, he has been in (and stood out) at elite level camps like USA Basketball and Under Armour Elite 24. There’s been no major developments in his recruitment but one to watch.
Rating: 4-Star (247 Sports: 27 | on3: 35 )
Hometown: Baltimore, Md.
High School: Overtime Elite
AAU: Team Thrill
Height: 6-2
Weight: 152
Offer date: July 10th
Status: Offered
Other offers: Alabama, Arizona State, California, DePaul, Florida Gulf Coast, George Mason, Georgia Tech, Houston, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, LSU, Maryland, Mississippi State, Nicholls State, North Carolina A&T, Old Dominion, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Rhode Island, Rutgers, Seton Hall, Syracuse, UCF
The skinny: Jackson is a highly ranked combo guard from Baltimore who also has recently signed up for Overtime Elite in Atlanta. He played a part in winning the UAA Next 17U Championship this past summer with Team Thrill, where we he averaged 10.5 points and shot 43% from three-point range. Like many on this list, there hasn’t been a ton of activity yet (visits, lists, etc.) so we’ll see how things play out.
Rating: 3-Star (247 Sports: 124 | on3: N/A )
Hometown: West Hartford, Conn.
High School: St. Thomas More
AAU: Expressions Elite
Height: 6-7
Weight: 195
Offer date: September 19th
Status: Offered
Other offers: Boston University, Brown, Fairfield, George Mason, Providence, Rhode Island, Rice, St. Joe’s, Syracuse, Temple, Umass, Virginia, Xavier, Yale
The skinny: Jemison is one of Villanova’s latest 2025 offers and is from West Hartford, Conn. He averaged 17.1 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 3.0 assists last year for Northwest Catholic-West Hartford while leading them to the state championship game. Jemison has since transferred to St. Thomas More, where Eric Paschall played his senior high of high school, and will likely see his offer list expand quickly as he’s picked up offer from ‘Nova and Syracuse in the past month, while receiving interest from other schools like Kansas and Georgetown.
Rating: 4-Star (247 Sports: 67 | on3: 81 )
Hometown: Durham, N.C.
High School: Southern
AAU: Team Loaded VA
Height: 6-5
Weight: 175
Offer date: September 19th
Status: Offered
Other offers: Appalachian State, Boston College, Charleston, East Carolina, George Mason, Georgetown, High Point, Illinois, LSU, Mississippi State, NC State, North Carolina A&T, Old Dominion, Radford, SMU, St. John’s, Tennessee, Texas A&M, VCU, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest
The skinny: Another recent offer by Villanova, Keith is a small forward with a ton of interest mostly up and down the east coast. Most recently he’s been at a USA Basketball Junior Minicamp (along with other Villanova targets) and was highlighted for his effort on both ends of the court.
Rating: 4-Star (247 Sports: 67 | on3: 80 )
Hometown: Charlottesville, Va.
High School: St. Anne’s-Belfield School
AAU: Team Thrill
Height: 5-10
Weight: 150
Offer date: October 18th
Status: Offered
Other offers: Butler, Clemson, Illinois, Iowa, Liberty, Maryland, Radford, Seton Hall, UCF, VCU, Virginia, Virginia Tech, West Virginia
The skinny: Literally the latest offer from Villanova (offered hours before this article was finished) Mallory is ranked as the 10th best point guard in the Class of 2025, and the 2nd best player in Virginia. Hopefully, Villanova can get in the mix here as he’s already been on campus with multiple schools like Clemson, West Virginia, and Maryland.
Rating: 4-Star (247 Sports: 131 | on3: 86 )
Hometown: Potomac, Md.
High School: The Bullis School
AAU: New World
Height: 6-11
Weight: 215
Offer date: September 18th
Status: Offered
Other offers: Butler, Charleston, Clemson, Creighton, East Carolina, George Washington, Georgetown, Harvard, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Miami, Mississippi State, Mizzou, Notre Dame, Providence, Purdue, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Xavier
The skinny: Big man Eric Reibe is another 2025 offer from the staff’s September activity who plays for Potomac (MD) Bullis School and averaged 10.0 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks while shooting 58% during two DMV live sessions. He is yet another prospect where we don’t have anything concrete other than an offer, so we’ll have to watch how the next few months develop.
Rating: 4-Star (247 Sports: 50 | on3: 20 )
Hometown: Kitchener, Ontario
High School: The Phelps School
AAU: UPLAY Canada
Height: 6-8
Weight: 180
Offer date: May 18th
Status: Offered – Unofficial Visit
Other offers: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Bryant, George Mason, Illinois, Kansas State, NJIT, Oregon, Penn State, Seton Hall, St. John’s, Washington, Xavier
The skinny: Riley, a self-described “tall guard”, appears to be a player that Villanova is prioritizing early in the 2025 cycle. Originally from Canada (*cough* *cough* maybe Jordann Dumont could help here), he plays for The Phelps School in Malvern, Pa. – just about 10 miles from campus. As of this article in August, Riley has been on campus for an unofficial, and per this October article there is talks of an official visit. Villanova also watched him drop 39 points in a scrimmage recently. There will be plenty of competition for Riley, but it seems the Cats are very active thus far.
Rating: 5-Star (247 Sports: 9 | on3: 5 )
Hometown: Pittsburgh, Pa.
High School: Lincoln Park Performing Arts Cs
AAU: NH Lightning
Height: 6-3
Weight: 175
Offer date: February 22nd
Status: Top 12 – Unofficial Visit
Other offers: Auburn, Duke, Indiana, Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky, Miami, Michigan, Pittsburgh, Tennessee, UConn
The skinny: Meleek Thomas was Kyle Neptune’s first offer in the Class of 2025 and for good reason. Thomas is a consensus 5 Star recruit who “doesn’t really feel like he can’t be guarded” as he said in the spring – he backed it up by averaging 25 PPG and leading his school to a Pennsylvania Class 4A state title. Meleek was on campus earlier this year for an unofficial visit and it paid off in a big way by making his (loaded) Top 12 list. Landing Thomas is going to be an uphill battle for anyone given the competition – it’ll be interesting to see what happens as his list shrinks.
Rating: 5-Star (247 Sports: 6 | on3: 15 )
Hometown: Atlanta, Ga.
High School: Overtime Elite
AAU: Atlanta Xpress
Height: 6-9
Weight: 230
Offer date: July 12th
Status: Offered
Other offers: Alabama, Cincinnati, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Houston, Kansas, Louisville, Michigan, Mizzou, Ohio State, Ole Miss, Providence, St. John’s, Stanford, Tennessee Tech, UCF, UNC, USC (California), Virginia
The skinny: Tiller is the third Overtime Elite player to appear on our list and is another 5 Star recruit – appearing in the Top 5-15 of lists depending on which site you read. Tiller was the first sophomore to sign with Overtime Elite last year and averaged 11.5 points and 6.9 rebounds through the season. In preseason for 2023-24, he’s already improved on those numbers – jumping to 12.3 points and 9.7 rebounds a game. No news on his recruitment as of now, so another one to watch as the season progresses.
Rating: 3-Star (247 Sports: 127 | on3: 136 )
Hometown: Baltimore, Md.
High School: The Bullis School
AAU: WeR1
Height: 6-4
Weight: 195
Offer date: September 11th
Status: Offered
Other offers: Albany, Butler, George Mason, George Washington, Loyola Maryland, Marquette, Maryland, Mississippi State, Penn State, Pitt, Providence, Rhode Island, St. Joe’s, Stanford, Towson, Virginia Tech, Xavier
The skinny: Stevens is a fast-rising guard out of Baltimore and one of Villanova’s latest 2025 offers. He’s picked up four additional offers in the month of September and has visited schools like Marquette, Maryland, and Virginia Tech. As mentioned earlier, we don’t have many details since he was offered not too long ago but with Hoops Mania approaching and the season around the corner, we’ll see if he makes his way to campus soon.
Rating: 4-Star (247 Sports: 65 | on3: 48 )
Hometown: Upper Marlboro, Md.
High School: Largo
AAU: Team Durant
Height: 6-6
Weight: 190
Offer date: Sept. 18th
Status: Offered
Other offers: Arkansas, Bryant, Canisius, Florida State, George Mason, George Washington, Georgetown, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas State, Louisville, Maryland, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Old Dominion, Penn State, Providence, St. Louis, Syracuse, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, VCU, Virginia Tech, West Virginia
The skinny: Cam Ward is yet another September offer from Villanova and it came within weeks of offers from Michigan State and Louisville. Ward was one of On3’s biggest risers in their latest ranking, jumping 24 spots. He has already visited Maryland and Georgetown unofficially and has official visits for Notre Dame and Florida State scheduled. We’ll see if Villanova can jump in the mix here – he’s a part of Team Durant AAU program, same as recent commit Malcolm Thomas.
The Transfer Portal makes it difficult to predict what the team will look like for the 2025-26 season, but its clear that Neptune is focusing on a strong backcourt with this group featuring eight players that are some type of a PG/SG/CG (even though positions are somewhat meaningless now).
In terms of timelines – it seems unrealistic to expect any commitments to occur in the immediate future. There haven’t been any official visits yet and only a handful of unofficial visits. In referencing the last three classes – most of our commitments have come in the fall of senior seasons. The exception would be Mark Armstrong who committed in April of his junior season.
There are some prospects here that Villanova is further along with than others, so we’ll see how things pan out throughout the season.
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