As the 2026-27 college basketball season inches closer, there’s still plenty of action to track on the high school recruiting front. Over the past month, several four- and five-star prospects in the Class of 2027 have committed, while others have been taking official visits and trimming their lists.
Hoops HQ has covered the biggest winners from the recruiting trail up to this point, including Purdue, UConn, Michigan State, Ohio State, Cincinnati and Syracuse. Below is a look at some of the programs that are off to a rocky start. It’s important to note that we’re still early in the 2027 cycle — about half of the top 100 players in the 247Sports Composite remain on the board — so these schools will have opportunities to turn things around.
Kansas
After landing the top prize in the Class of 2026 — five-star forward Tyran Stokes — in April, Kansas lost the centerpiece of its 2027 class in August. Five-star forward Javon Bardwell, who had been committed to the Jayhawks since last October, opted to decommit and reclassify to 2026. A few weeks later, he signed with Providence. Bardwell turned 19 in May, so under the NCAA’s new five-in-five eligibility rule, he risked losing a year if he didn’t reclassify. At Kansas, Bardwell would have been taking a back seat to Stokes this season.
The Jayhawks have been in hot pursuit of other elite 2027 prospects, but thus far, they have come up empty. The program hosted four-star guard Antonio Pemberton (No. 23 in the 247Sports Composite), a Massachusetts native who shined on this year’s Adidas 3SSB circuit, for an official visit in late August. Pemberton named Kansas as one of his eight finalists but ultimately chose Michigan State.
Surprisingly, Kansas does not appear to be a major contender to land any of the top 10 prospects in the class — at least as of now. While five-star guard Adan Diggs (No. 6) included Kansas in his list of finalists, Arizona is believed to be the favorite. Five-star forward DeMarcus Henry (No. 3) still has KU in the mix, but other programs — UConn, Louisville and Arkansas — have recently gained traction. Henry has yet to schedule a visit to Lawrence.
Bill Self did host five-star forward Malachi Jordan (No. 19) in mid-September, shortly after three assistants went to see him at Prolific Prep, where he currently plays. The Tennessee native has also taken official visits to USC, Vanderbilt and Tennessee, and is expected to visit UConn and Alabama in October.
North Carolina
Michael Malone and his staff are still waiting to make their first big recruiting splash.
Despite being in the mix for some high-level talent, the Tar Heels have not yet gotten on the board. They have been chasing five-star forward Jordan Page (No. 12) for several years. A native of Raleigh, just a 40-minute drive from Chapel Hill, Page remained a top priority for the program even after it changed hands from Hubert Davis to Malone. Page has been to campus multiple times, including for an official visit in early September. The versatile wing starred on this summer’s Adidas 3SSB circuit, averaging 16.3 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.7 assists for Garner Road.
For a long time, UNC was believed to be the frontrunner in the Page sweepstakes. Now UConn, which Page visited a few weeks ago, has emerged as the favorite. That would be a crushing loss for the Tar Heels, especially considering Page is an in-state prospect.
It seems as though the Tar Heels have partially shifted focus to five-star guard Nasir Anderson (No. 8), a standout at Prolific Prep. Malone has been in to see him numerous times and hosted him for an official visit last weekend. UNC will also host five-star wing Jalen Davis (No. 16) this weekend and is still prominently in the races for fellow five-stars CJ Rosser (No. 2), DeMarcus Henry (No. 3) and Lewis Uvwo (No. 7).
The expectation is that Malone will land at least one of the above, which would immediately turn the tide in Chapel Hill. The talent is on the table for the program — it just has to seal the deal.
Stanford
Kyle Smith put together an impressive 2026 recruiting class, headlined by four-star forward Aziz Olajuwon (No. 76), the son of NBA legend Hakeem Olajuwon. And prior to that, Stanford landed one of the biggest sleepers in the 2025 class: four-star guard Ebuka Okorie, who went on to earn All-ACC honors and be selected in the first round of the 2026 NBA Draft.
The Cardinal have yet to make any noise in the 2027 cycle, missing out on some of their top targets. They made a strong push for five-star forward Dawson Battie (No. 26), who would have been one of the highest-ranked prospects ever to commit to the program. A native of Texas, Battie visited Stanford in late June — it was one of just two schools he visited during the recruiting process — but ultimately committed to Nebraska.
Stanford also hosted four-star forward Jeremiah Profit (No. 61), a California native, over the summer. Of Profit’s six finalists, Stanford was the only one located in California. But the highly coveted wing opted to leave his home state, committing to Northwestern last week.
While he never made it for an official visit, four-star forward Ian Condon (No. 101) named Stanford as one of his eight finalists. Condon, who starred on this year’s Nike EYBL circuit, announced his commitment to Florida on Tuesday.
Stanford remains in the running for other top recruits, including five-star guard Jalen Davis (No. 16), who visited this past weekend, and four-star guard Drew Guy (No. 114).
Florida State
Luke Loucks has been extremely active on the recruiting trail. But despite extending dozens of offers, Florida State has yet to earn any commitments. The program was all-in on landing five-star forward Moussa Kamissoko (No. 14) out of Spire Academy in Ohio. In fact, the day before Kamissoko announced his commitment to Syracuse, Loucks was at Spire.
Kamissoko took an official visit to FSU in late August alongside five-star guard Cayden Daughtry (No. 4) and four-star guard Jarvis Hayes Jr. (No. 38), both of whom are still considering the Seminoles. While Loucks has made trips to see Hayes at Woodard Academy (College Park, Ga.), Georgia is believed to be the favorite to land the talented wing, whose father, Jarvis Hayes, is a former UGA basketball star and current assistant coach for the Bulldogs.
FSU has whiffed on numerous in-state prospects, including four-star forward Carson Crawford (No. 55), who had the Seminoles on his list of five finalists but ultimately chose Arizona State. The program hosted four-star guard native Oneal Delancy (No. 43) for an official visit in June. A month later, the Florida native committed to Houston.
Loucks should have plenty of opportunities to bounce back in the months to come, beginning with the highly competitive race for Daughtry.
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