College Basketball: Top Five 2023 Recruiting class rankings

Most recruiting services in late May moved on to updating their 2024 recruiting class rankings. Here is a look at the 2023 recruiting team rankings based on summer signees.

College basketball team recruiting rankings are a way of assessing the talent of the incoming freshmen class for each team. They are compiled by recruiting services like 247Sports, Rivals, On 3, and ESPN, and they take into account the star ratings of each recruit, as well as their overall ranking.

The rankings are used by coaches, players, and fans to gauge the strength of each team’s incoming class. They can also be used to predict how successful each team will be in the upcoming season.

Here are some of the factors that are considered when these recruiting services and sites compile their college basketball team recruiting rankings:

The star ratings of each student-athlete recruit: Recruits are rated on a scale of 1 to 5 stars, with 5 stars being the highest rating. The more five-star recruits a team has, the higher their ranking will be. There are some student-athletes that are not given any stars but are also considered top sought-after recruits like Zvonimir Ivisic and Berke Buyuktuncel.

The overall ranking of each recruit: In addition to their star rating, each recruit is also given an overall ranking. This ranking takes into account the recruit’s height, weight, athleticism, skills, and potential. The higher a recruit’s overall ranking, the higher their team’s ranking will be usually.

The number of commits/signees: The number of commits/signees a team has also factored into the recruiting services team rankings. A commit/signee is a recruit who has verbally committed to play for a particular team and then signs to become a student-athlete at that university. The more commits/signees a team has, the higher their ranking will be usually.

It is important to note that recruiting rankings are not always accurate as they can not accurately predict how well they will perform and play at the college level. Sometimes, a team with a high-ranked recruiting class does not live up to expectations. Conversely, sometimes a team with a low-ranked recruiting class surprises everyone and has a successful season.

However, recruiting rankings are still a useful tool for assessing the talent of each team’s incoming class. They can be used to predict how successful each team will be in the upcoming season, and they can also be used by coaches and players to target specific recruits.

Here are the four recruiting services used for this top five rankings based on their team rankings:

On3

ESPN

247 Sports

Rivals

Let’s now take a look at the five top college basketball recruiting classes for 2023.

Michigan State is ranked No. 5 because they are ranked No. 4 by ESPN, No. 5 by 247, and No. 6 by both Rivals and On3.

Team Rankings

ESPN: No. 4
On3: No. 6
247 Sports: No. 5
Rivals: No. 6

Player Rankings: (Highest Player Ranking out of all the sites)

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Xavier Booker (No. 11 247 Sports)

⭐⭐⭐⭐ Coen Carr (No. 23 On3)

⭐⭐⭐⭐ Jeremy Fears (No. 27 ESPN)

⭐⭐⭐⭐ Gehrig Normand (No. 47 On3)

UCS is ranked No. 4 as they are ranked in the top 4 in three of the four recruiting services used in these rankings.

Team Rankings

ESPN: No. 13
On3: No. 4
247 Sports: No. 3
Rivals: No. 3

Player Rankings: (Highest Player Ranking out of all the sites)

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Isaiah Collier (No. 1 ESPN and Rivals)

⭐⭐⭐⭐ Bronny James (No. 11 On3)

⭐⭐⭐⭐ Arrinten Page (No. 40 ESPN)

⭐⭐⭐⭐ Brandon Gardner (No. 77 Rivals)