Although Xavier’s basketball roster for the 2024-25 season has been set for almost a month and practices are already underway at the Cintas Center, the Musketeers brass still had a busy month of May, capped by a series of offers to prepare prospects for Memorial Day.
Here’s an update on some of the high school standouts Xavier recently offered a scholarship to, plus an update on recent recruiting with visits scheduled and decisions imminent.
Grady Winters
Grady, a four-star recruit from Napa, Californiareceived an offer from Xavier, he announced on social media Friday night.
Grady, a 6-foot-4, 185-pound prospect, is ranked as a top-30 offensive lineman in the country for the 2025 class and a top-10 prospect in California. Xavier joins Grady’s list of offers that includes double-digit Division I programs from across the country, including California, Oklahoma and Big East rival Creighton.
Last summer, Grady transferred from Lake Oswego in Oregon to Prolific Prep in California, a team that included three McDonald’s All-Americans.
CJ Shaw
Shaw added an offer from Xavier on Saturday after the Las Vegas, Nev., prospect had a strong showing at Nike’s EYBL event in Kansas City. Shaw received offers from UNLV, Utah Tech, Southern Utah and Portland State in late May before Xavier and many others (Utah State, Iona, Santa Clara, Montana and Boise State) entered the fray.
Shaw is rated as a three-star point guard and the No. 4 player in Nevada in the 2025 class.
Bryce heard
Heard announced an offer from Xavier on Friday. Heard, a 6-foot-5 combo guard, is ranked as the No. 1 player in Illinois for the 2025 class.
Heard, a top-100 player in the country, is a top-15 combo guard in the country and has drawn strong recruiting interest with more than 20 Division I offers that include Big East members Georgetown, DePaul and St. Louis.
Naz Meyer
Marquette offered Naz Meyer, a 6-foot-2 guard from New Hampton School in New Hampshire, on May 21. Xavier followed up with an offer nine days later for the guard who is classified as the #5 player in New Hampshire for the class of 2025.
Bruce III Branch
Branch, a 6-foot-5 small forward from the Class of 2027, received an offer from Xavier on Friday. Branch just finished his freshman year at Perry High School in Arizona and is a member of the Compton Magic Elite.
Jayden Forsythe
Forsythe, a 6-foot-2 shooting guard from Westtown High School in West Chester, Pennsylvania, announced an offer from Xavier on May 24.
Forsythe is classified by 247Sports as three-star recruit and a top-10 player in Pennsylvania for the class of 2025. He holds 10 Division I offers, including from Butler, Northwestern, Penn State and Virginia Tech.
Washington D.C.’s No. 1 prospect will visit Xavier this month
Nyk Lewis, ranked by 247Sports as the #1 player in Washington, D.C. and one of the top 10 point guards in the country in the 2025 classwill visit Xavier on June 17, according to a report from League Ready on X.
More: Who is Nyk Lewis? Four-star point guard from Washington, D.C. expected to visit Xavier
Lewis, a four-star point guard, has already taken an official visit to Marquette and has offers from several Division I offers, including Georgetown, LSU, Michigan and Providence. With Xavier’s visiting schedule, On3 Sports Prediction Machine lists Xavier as the 29% favorite to sign the coveted point guard, followed by Marquette (25.4%) and Oklahoma State (21.7%). Xavier offered Lewis a scholarship in June 2023.
Jaylen Harrell’s decision looms
Harrell was one of Xavier’s targets who played in the Nike EYBL in Kansas City over Memorial Day weekend. Harrell visited the Musketeers earlier this year.
The 6-foot-2 point guard from the Cambridge Academy of Arts, Technology and Sciences has Xavier in his bottom six, along with Alabama, Kansas, Providence, Rutgers and Virginia Tech. He was originally scheduled to announce his commitment on May 27, but postponed that decision.
My college decision was much more difficult than anticipated. Due to this, I will be postponing my appointment to a later date. Whatever decision I make, I want to make sure it’s the right choice for me and my family.
-Jaylen Harrell (@Jaylen_Harrell6) May 23, 2024
Harrell is ranked by 247Sports as the No. 1 player in Massachusetts for the 2025 class.
This article originally appeared in the Cincinnati Enquirer: Xavier basketball recruiting: Nyk Lewis schedules visit
