Louisville Transfer Forward Brandon Huntley-Hatfield (6’10”/235) has verbally committed to NC State!
Huntley-Hatfield chose to run with the Wolfpack over a Final-4 that included UCONN, Louisville and Pitt. He took an Official Visit to Raleigh this past weekend. Huntley-Hatfield was scheduled to take an Official Visit to Pitt in 2 weeks, but that is obviously cancelled now.
Huntley-Hatfield is a 2-year starter at Louisville, starting in all 32 games for the Cardinals this season. He averaged 12.9 points and 8.4 rebounds this year as a Junior, shooting 56.7% from the field.
Originally, Huntley-Hatfield committed to Tennessee, as a 5-star prospect in the Volunteer’s 2021 recruiting class. 247Sports and ESPN both ranked him as a 5-star prospect, with the latter ranking him as the #21 overall player nationally. 247Sports ranked him as the #1 player in the state of Pennsylvania.
After playing 35 games, starting 12, for Tennessee as a Freshman, Huntley-Hatfield transferred to Louisville.
Huntley-Hatfield has one more year of eligibility.
Great. Just need another great scorer and defensive two guard. Would love to see the kid from Oakland if he had more eligibility left . Sending this from Phoenix. Go Pack men and women’s teams
ECU Transfer Power Forward Ezra Ausar (6’9″/240) was on an Official Visit to NC State yesterday, and according to analysts at ON3 and 247Sports, things are trending in the right direction for the Wolfpack.
Jamie Shaw of ON3 submitted a prediction for Ausar to eventually commit to NC State yesterday morning.
Cory Smith of 247Sports submitted a crystal ball projection for Ausar to run with the Wolfpack this morning.
Ausar just wrapped up his Sophomore season in Greenville, averaging 11.4 points and 4.7 rebounds, shooting 51.4% from the field. As a Freshman, he was named to the AAC All-Freshman Team, averaging 9.8 points and 5.3 rebounds.
Ausar is a consensus 4-Star prospect in the Transfer Portal, and ON3 ranks him as the #60 overall player in the Portal and the #10 Power Forward.
Originally from Atlanta, Ausar played his Senior Season of High School at Liberty Heights Athletic Institute in Charlotte, North Carolina. ON3 ranked Ausar as a 4-Star prospect coming out of high school, the #94 overall player nationally, and the #2 player in the state of North Carolina.
Ausar has visited Seton Hall, Georgia Tech, met over Zoom with Georgetown, and had an in-home visit with Utah. John Calipari and his staff at Arkansas have been in touch with Ausar, as well as Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Virginia Tech, Arizona State, West Virginia, Iowa State and St. John’s. (Link)
At this point, it’s good news that Ausar has no visits scheduled after the visit to NC State.
Ausar has 2 years of eligibility remaining, and NC State currently has 1 scholarship remaining.
NC State Head Coach Kevin Keatts and the beloved DJ Burns were both Siren Sounders for the Canes this evening, with Carolina defeating the Islanders 6-3, winning the Round 1 series 4-1.
Me: Were you nervous?
Kevin Keatts: No! I just won nine elimination games in the NCAA Tournament!
USC Power Forward Brandon Gardner (6’8″/215) listed NC State in his Top-6 along with Jacksonville, San Francisco, Arizona St., Texas A&M and Arizona.
Gardner was a 4-star prospect in the 2023 recruiting class, with Rivals ranking him as the #74 overall player nationally, and ESPN ranking him as the #2 player in the state of New York (Christ the King, New York City). He is originally from Waynesboro, Georgia. Prior to playing for Christ the King, Gardner played for Word of God Academy, so Raleigh is familiar to him.
Kevin Keatts and his NC State Coaching Staff offered Gardner when he was in high school.
Prior to committing to USC, Gardner was committed to St. John’s.
This past season Gardner only played in 4 minutes in 1 game for the Trojans, making it a redshirt season.
Gardner will have 4 years of eligibility wherever he lands.
Great. Just need another great scorer and defensive two guard. Would love to see the kid from Oakland if he had more eligibility left . Sending this from Phoenix. Go Pack men and women’s teams