Recapping Syracuse’s 2027 recruitment efforts under Gerry McNamara thus far
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Over the past two years, Syracuse got accustomed to securing high-level high school prospects.
Bolstered by Adrian Autry’s efforts — particularly in the Washington D.C., Maryland and Virginia area — the Orange landed top-30 prospects like Donnie Freeman in 2024 and Sadiq White Jr. in 2025. SU added strong four-stars in those years, too, like Elijah Moore and Kiyan Anthony.
That changed in 2026, along with almost everything about Syracuse’s men’s basketball. After a disappointing 15-17 campaign, Autry was fired and replaced by Gerry McNamara, a program legend who coached Siena to the NCAA Tournament. As they dealt with the coaching transition, the Orange brought in 247Sports’ 71st-best 2026 class, a step down from their top-30 hauls in the two prior years.
But now, with a few months under his belt, McNamara is starting to strengthen SU’s recruiting pipelines. Here’s a recap of the headway Syracuse has made for its 2027 class:
Committed
Jack Donohue, small forward, The Newman School
247Sports Composite’s No. 273 prospect
This time a year ago, Syracuse had just one 2026 commitment: Calvin Russell III, the two-sport athlete who was a five-star wide receiver and an unranked basketball prospect from Miami Northwestern (Florida).
Similarly, SU’s 2027 class currently has just one recruit locked in. It’s Jack Donohue, a 6-foot-8 small forward from The Newman School (Massachusetts) who became the Orange’s first 2027 commit on Aug. 3. Unlike Russell, Donohue is graded as a three-star by 247Sports and ranks as the fifth-best prospect in Massachusetts.
Donohue, an Albany, New York, native, chose Syracuse over offers from Penn State, Siena and Florida Atlantic, among others. He underwent surgery to repair a heart defect in June 2025 but has since fully recovered.
Final contenders
Nasir Anderson, guard, Prolific Prep
247Sports Composite’s No. 8 prospect
There are few prospects nationwide with more hype than Nasir Anderson. The Prolific Prep (Florida) guard told League Ready’s Sam Kayser that Syracuse is in his final 10 schools, along with Atlantic Coast Conference rivals Virginia and North Carolina. If he commits, he has potential to become McNamara’s future point guard.
Anderson is graded as 247Sports’ second-best point guard in the 2027 class, and he led a strong Prolific Prep team to a 38-4 record last season, averaging 13 points and eight assists per game. The Savannah, Georgia, native began his high school career at Savannah Country Day School (Georgia) before transferring to Norcross High School (Georgia), and eventually Prolific for his junior year.
He received an offer from SU on April 28 and is also considering Kentucky, Providence, Indiana, Georgia, Tennessee, UConn and Florida. Anderson hasn’t set a date for any of his college visits, but Inside The Loud House previously reported the Orange are working to find a date for an official visit.
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J’Lon Lyons, guard, Clinton Grace Christian
247Sports Composite’s No. 44 prospect
Earlier in June, point guard J’Lon Lyons told On3’s Joe Tipton that he’s narrowed down his college search to five contenders: Syracuse, VCU, Tennessee, Maryland and Texas. Lyons, a four-star point guard, is 247Sports’ best 2027 prospect from Maryland.
As a junior at Clinton Grace Christian (Maryland), Lyons averaged 15.1 points, 4.4 assists and 2.4 steals per game, leading the Eagles to a 22-win season and earning 2025-26 Maryland Gatorade Player of the Year honors.
Clinton Grace is just 24 miles from College Park, giving the Terrapins a hometown advantage. But despite losing Autry’s strong DMV pipeline, the Orange have pursued Lyons aggressively. SU assistant Arinze Onuaku, a Lanham, Maryland, native, has been crucial in Lyons’ recruitment. The guard will take an official visit to Syracuse from Sept. 11-13.
“Syracuse has been around a lot,” Clinton Grace head coach Devin Paige told Inside The Loud House on Aug. 15. “(McNamara and Onuaku) have a good relationship with Lonnie.”
Carson Crawford, forward, Fleming Island
247Sports Composite’s No. 50 prospect
When Carson Crawford revealed his final five schools to Tipton on July 26, two ACC schools were in the mix: Florida State and Syracuse. Outside of the conference, Providence, Arizona State and Ole Miss made the four-star’s final cut.
Crawford, who’s 6-foot-6, 180 pounds, doesn’t have great size yet, but that hasn’t prevented him from becoming a force in the paint. As a junior at Fleming Island High School (Florida), he averaged 17.2 points, 9.8 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game, leading the Golden Eagles to 23 wins, per MaxPreps. He also led his Nike EYBL squad — the Florida Rebels — to the Peach Jam championship this July.
Similarly to Lyons, Crawford has hometown ties with one of his finalists: Florida State. The wing is from Orange Park, Florida, roughly 170 miles from Tallahassee, but the Seminoles haven’t locked in an official visit with him yet. He’s scheduled visits to Arizona State and Providence and is set to visit SU later this fall, per Inside The Loud House.
Official visits
Moussa Kamissoko, forward, Long Island Lutheran
247Sports Composite’s No. 15 prospect
When constructing his roster, one of McNamara’s first moves this offseason was retaining Anthony. That decision might pay dividends with the Orange looking at Moussa Kamissoko, the five-star forward who played alongside Anthony at Long Island Lutheran in Brooklyn, New York.
Kamissoko, rated as 247Sports’ No. 1 prospect in New York, is the highest-touted prospect set to visit the Orange so far. He’ll make an official visit to SU from Sept. 3-4, one of his nine scheduled trips this fall. UConn, Louisville, BYU, Baylor, Oklahoma State, Florida State, Virginia and Illinois have also locked in official visits with Kamissoko.
Ahmed Nur, forward, Bella Vista Prep
247Sports Composite’s No. 24 prospect
Ahmed Nur spent the first three years of his high school career at Hopkins High School, a public school near his hometown of Hopkins, Minnesota. But after becoming a premier prospect in the 2027 class, Nur transferred to Bella Vista Prep, a prep school in Scottsdale, Arizona, for his senior year.
Nur’s rated as the fourth-best power forward in the 2027 class, per 247Sports. This summer, he won MVP at the NBPA Top 100 Camp. His performance earned him a July trip to “The Sanctuary,” a performance retreat in Spain with NBA players like New Orleans Pelicans guard Jeremiah Fears and Portland Trail Blazers guard Shaedon Sharpe, per ESPN.
He hasn’t released his final cut, but his recruitment is ramping up. Nur officially visited Purdue on June 23, and he finished his visit to Ole Miss on Monday. He’ll take an official visit to Syracuse from Aug. 28-30 and then plans to visit Washington from Sept. 6-8.
Ian Condon, forward, Sidwell Friends
247Sports Composite’s No. 163 prospect
The industry-generated composite grades aren’t super high on Ian Condon, but 247Sports’ own rankings are much more bullish on the 6-foot-7 forward. The site currently has Condon graded as a four-star prospect and the No. 89 recruit nationwide, much higher than the three-star grade he’s earned on the composite rankings.
Condon broke out as a junior at Sidwell Friends School (D.C.), averaging a career-high 20.4 points and 8.1 rebounds per game, according to MaxPreps. The forward hasn’t released his finalists yet but is preparing five visits. According to Kayser, Condon will visit Syracuse from Sept. 1-2 before going to Boston College, Notre Dame, Northwestern and NC State later in the fall.
Players who hold Syracuse offers
CJ Rosser, forward, Southeastern Prep
247Sports Composite’s No. 1 prospect
King Gibson, guard, SPIRE Academy
247Sports Composite’s No. 6 prospect
Lewis Uvwo, center, Prolific Prep
247Sports Composite’s No. 7 prospect
Paul Osaruyi, center, Bella Vista Prep
247Sports Composite’s No. 12 prospect
Devin Cleveland, guard, La Lumiere
247Sports Composite’s No. 34 prospect
