Providence College will not receive a commitment from Jaylen Harrell next week. And after Thursday, the Friars are no longer guaranteed to make his list of finalists.
Harrell said on social media that he will postpone his decision and renew his recruitment. He’s a 2025 shooting guard and Massachusetts’ Gatorade Player of the Year, and Providence was among six players named to an initial list announced in late February. “My college decision has been much harder than anticipated,” Harrell stated in a letter. “As a result of this, I shall postpone my commitment until a later date. Whatever decision I make, I want to make sure it is the best one for me and my family.”
Harrell had been on an official visit with Xavier earlier in the week. He has also taken officials from the Friars and Rutgers. His original final six included the Musketeers, Providence, the Scarlet Knights, Alabama, Kansas, and Virginia Tech, but that list is currently susceptible to change. Harrell visited Providence twice in March, seeing defeats against Villanova and Connecticut at Amica Mutual Pavilion. His second trip for the 74-60 loss to the Huskies happened during his official visit to campus. Harrell had just finished a successful spring season at CATS Academy, a scholastic powerhouse in Boston.
Harrell has continued to perform into this current grassroots season with Nike circuit entry Expressions Elite. He averaged 17.6 points per game during the Memphis session and was even better in Atlanta, piling up 19 points per game. Harrell was named a standout by ESPN during the third Nike session in Indianapolis and could see his stock rise all the way to the signature Peach Jam in July.
Harrell is bound to have a host of fresh suitors pursuing him in light of this development. He’s a strong 6 feet 5 inches and already cut the likes of Wake Forest, Washington, Georgetown and St. John’s from his reported offers. Providence could wind up competing with a different cast of bluebloods if it elects to continue pursuing Harrell in the coming weeks.
The Friars currently count two commitments in their 2025 class. Athletic big man Oswin Erhunmwunse pledged last year and still holds the option of joining the program ahead of the 2024-25 season. He would almost certainly have an immediate frontcourt role alongside Saint Joseph’s transfer Christ Essandoko and junior college big man Anton Bonke, who enrolled ahead of second semester and practiced with Providence for the remainder of the year.
The Friars made another major splash with Florida wing Jamier Jones, a consensus top-35 prospect. He selected Providence ahead of Ohio State, Houston, LSU, South Carolina and Kansas this month. Jones joined Erhunmwunse and 2023 guard Garwey Dual as the third consensus top-50 prospect secured by Kim English since he took over on the sideline in late March 2023.
Nigel James, Mikel Brown Jr. and Lino Mark were among the guards the Friars hosted behind their bench during a 21-14 season and a trip to the NIT in English’s debut. Providence also welcomed frontcourt prospects Tee Bartlett, Bryson Tiller and Efeosa Oliogu to games in 2023-24. The Friars will need some immediate backcourt and wing help after next year with Wesley Cardet Jr., Jabri Abdur-Rahim, Bensley Joseph and Bryce Hopkins all scheduled to depart.
Be the first to comment