With unprecedented legal and legislative drama dominating college basketball headlines, the usual late-summer flurry of activity in the high school recruiting world has gone overlooked.
Several top 100 prospects have announced their commitments this month, while others have begun taking visits and narrowing their lists ahead of their senior campaigns.
Below is an update on some of the biggest names in the Class of 2027, including the consensus No. 1 overall player, the Peach Jam MVP, a fast-rising big man from Nigeria and more.
Beckham Black, 6-foot-3 point guard (Duncanville, TX)
Throughout a busy summer, Black — the younger brother of Orlando Magic guard Anthony Black — took over the No. 1 spot in the Class of 2027 rankings. A 6-foot-3 point guard with elite court vision and three-level scoring ability, Black averaged 21.7 points, 5.4 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 1.7 steals for AB Elite on the Nike EYBL circuit. He also represented the United States at the 2026 FIBA U17 World Cup in June and led the team in assists. “Biasedly, I think he’s the best player in the country,” AB Elite coach James Stafford told Hoops HQ in July. “And to probably be our most unselfish player — that’s just a unique combination that you don’t find in people.”
Black has kept his recruitment mostly under wraps, but a few favorites have begun to emerge. He opened September with official visits to Florida (close to his current school, Orlando’s Southeastern Prep) and Texas (close to his hometown of Duncanville). Other programs believed to be prominently in the mix include USC, Arkansas, Duke, North Carolina and Miami. Black’s brother played one season at Arkansas, but his coach, Eric Musselman, is now at USC.
“At the end of the day, he can play anywhere,” Stafford said. “I don’t think there’s a place in the country where he couldn’t play. The biggest thing is finding a coach with the right temperament who’s not going to be afraid to coach him. A lot of times with a kid that good, sometimes guys get a little afraid to coach him. And the bottom line is, he needs somebody who’s going to be able to get after him a little when he needs to be gotten after, but also that’s going to give him the freedom to play and trust him to do the things he’s able to do on the court and not restrict him. In an ideal world, somebody who’s done a good job of developing guys at the point guard position and getting them to that next level.”
DeMarcus Henry, 6-foot-7 forward (Santa Ana, CA)
Henry, the No. 3-ranked player in the Class of 2027 (per the 247Sports Composite), previously told Hoops HQ that he doesn’t plan to commit until the second signing period in the spring, once roster situations have become clearer. Nonetheless, the 6-foot-7 forward has trimmed his list to eight schools — Ohio State, UConn, Kansas, North Carolina, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisville and BYU — and begun taking official visits. He was at Louisville on Sept. 1 and UConn last week. A few behind-the-scenes videos of him in Storrs circulated on social media, including one in which he’s excitedly chest-bumping coach Dan Hurley. The Huskies have already landed a five-star prospect in the current recruiting cycle: 6-foot-3 point guard NaVorro Bowman Jr.
It’s important to note that Henry has two older siblings who play sports at Ohio State. His brother, Chris, is a wide receiver on the football team, while his sister, Seini, is entering her sophomore season on the women’s basketball squad.
At Peach Jam in July, DeMarcus shed light on what he’s prioritizing as he dives deeper into the recruitment process. “A place that can help me grow, because the main thing for me is just to keep growing,” he told Hoops HQ. “A place that makes me uncomfortable and pushes me to be better, and somewhere that sees my abilities and wants to just help me reach my goal, which is the NBA. Development is really the biggest thing for me, and a family culture.”
Lewis Uvwo, 6-foot-11 center (Fort Lauderdale, FL)
Over the past six months, Uvwo, a 6-foot-11 center from Nigeria, has shot up the national rankings, rising from No. 154 to No. 7 on the 247Sports Composite and amassing dozens of scholarship offers. An exceptional rim protector, rebounder and lob threat, Uvwo averaged 9.1 points, 7.8 rebounds and 4.5 blocks for Nightrydas on the Nike EYBL circuit.
While he has not formally cut down his list, the big man has started taking official visits, offering a peek at some of the top contenders. Thus far, he’s been to Baylor, Cal and Kentucky, with a visit to Providence on tap for next weekend. Uvwo’s AAU teammate, five-star guard Ryan Hampton, has already committed to Kentucky.
Another school believed to be heavily in the mix for Uvwo is BYU, the first high-major to offer him a scholarship back when he was still training at NBA Academy Africa in Senegal. The 18-year-old is also being courted by Duke, North Carolina, Kansas, Florida, Michigan, Indiana and more. According to 247Sports, Uvwo is “highly likely” to announce his decision during signing week in November.
“Being in an environment that definitely focuses on development, I think that’s key (for Uvwo),” Nightrydas coach David McDaniel III told Hoops HQ. “Because I feel like there’s a lot of room for improvement for him to get to that next level. I know his end game is that he wants to be a pro, so obviously to get there, there are different things he has to continue to work on, so I think prioritizing development. That’s a big part of being in the right environment. He likes to be pushed, and so being with someone who’s not going to just be okay with you being a top-rated guy — they’re going to challenge you and push you to be better.”
In terms of playing style, McDaniel sees Uvwo thriving in a system that pairs a fast-paced offense with a highly aggressive defense.
CJ Rosser, 6-foot-9 forward (Rocky Mount, NC)
The top-ranked big man in the Class of 2027, Rosser announced the seven finalists in his recruitment last Thursday, along with his official visit schedule: North Carolina (Sept. 11), NC State (Sept. 16), Miami (Sept. 25), Arkansas (Sept. 28), Kentucky (Oct. 1), USC (Oct. 4) and Louisville (Oct. 22). With a rare blend of size, mobility and guard skills, the 6-foot-10 forward is projected as the possible No. 1 pick in the 2028 NBA Draft.
North Carolina is presumed to be the favorite to land Rosser, given its proximity to his hometown of Rocky Mount — about an hour-and-a-half drive from Chapel Hill — and coach Michael Malone’s NBA experience. Rosser took two unofficial visits to UNC (one when Hubert Davis was still the coach) prior to his official visit this past weekend. He has also taken unofficials to Louisville and Kentucky.
“I think that any school that gets CJ has to be a family environment,” Kasenda Young, one of Rosser’s AAU coaches, told Hoops HQ this summer. “His family’s super important to him. His mom and dad are super involved with him. His mom actually played at a high level, so she knows basketball really well. The person that gets him is going to be the person that has a relationship with his mother and father. It’s very important that they are people who keep their word — say what they mean, mean what they say.
“It’s got to be somebody who has a track record of development (with) players like him and can understand what that entails and understand that he’s NBA bound,” Young continued. “I can see him going to a couple of different places, but it’s going to all come down to that relationship more than the basketball.”
Cayden Daughtry, 6-foot point guard (Fort Lauderdale, FL)
After leading the Florida Rebels on an incredible run to the 2026 Peach Jam title in July, Daughtry saw his stock skyrocket. The 6-foot point guard averaged 28.0 points, 6.0 assists, 5.1 rebounds and 2.2 steals, earning the EYBL’s first-ever MVP award.
With more than a dozen schools still on his list, Daughtry packed his fall schedule with official visits. The Fort Lauderdale native has already been to Florida State, Tennessee and Iowa (where he was welcomed at Kinnick Stadium this past weekend with “We want Cayden!” chants), and will soon visit Florida (Sept. 25), Miami (Oct. 16) and Arkansas (Oct. 30). According to Rivals’ Joe Tipton, Daughtry was supposed to go to UConn next weekend but the visit was cancelled after the Huskies earned a commitment from guard NaVorro Bowman Jr. on Thursday. The other programs that remain in contention for Daughtry are Louisville, USC, Vanderbilt, Villanova, Michigan, Providence and Kentucky.
“He fits in any situation, but if he’s able to be in a situation like Trae Young was when he was at Oklahoma, where the ball is in his hands and he’s playing a lot of pick-and-roll, letting him be the decision maker, I think that’s where he’ll be most successful,” Gary Clemons, one of Daughtry’s former AAU coaches, told Hoops HQ over the summer. “Just give him the keys, let him play. Because it’s crazy to say, but I think he’s as good as Trae Young.”
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