After a slow start – at least compared to the girls – boys basketball commitment season is finally heating up.
There are a few dozen names who have entered our Class of 2026 commitments tracker, including more than half of my latest watch list. Quinn Costello, Ryan Moesch and Adama Tambedou are among the biggest names to announce their college destinations in recent weeks.
September and October are typically the busiest months of the recruiting calendar, filled with college visits and meetings with coaches. Ultimately, many prospects are hoping to make their commitments before their final high school and prep seasons begin in November and December.
There’s still much more to go in this recruiting season, but after a busy September, this is a good checkpoint to take stock of what’s transpired. Here are four takeaways from the latest in New England boys recruiting, including leftover thoughts on a few commitments and looking ahead to some decisions we’re anticipating.
Ryan Moesch picks Siena
For outsiders, Ryan Moesch’s decision came as a surprise when the Cushing point guard made his announcement between his two finalists on Sept. 15.
Siena over Providence?
It’s certainly not common for a recruit to choose a mid-major school over a high-major school – especially a player of Moesch’s caliber – but it’s a perfect example of how the recruiting landscape has changed. At Siena, it looks like Moesch has a good chance to be a starter on Day 1. At Providence, it would probably be a tougher fight for minutes. As much as I love Moesch as a player, it’s tough to envision him having a significant role as a freshman in the Big East with his size and the depth and experience that Providence would have in the backcourt.
MORE: Ryan Moesch discusses commitment to Siena
It makes sense for Moesch to go to Siena and get a bunch of college experience right away, and continue to mature his body and his game. If he succeeds and plays well, he can always move up to a high-major school if that’s still appealing to him, and he’d likely have a more immediate impact as an older player. High-majors, as we’ve seen in the transfer portal era, are always picking out the best players from mid-majors. And if that happens, I’d have to think Providence – which was the only high-major school to offer Moesch – would have a head-start in that recruiting process. Good on Friars head coach Kim English and his staff for building that early relationship, which could pay dividends for them down the road.
And while I don’t have numbers to report, I’m hearing that Siena and Providence made similar NIL (name, image and likeness) offers to Moesch. That’s today’s recruiting world, where smaller schools have the dollars to compete with the big boys.
THE SAVANT: Inside Ryan Moesch's rise as one of New England's most electric talents
A steal for UMass
One of my favorite early commitments has been Cheick Sylla to UMass. The 6-foot-10 center for Bridgton definitely flies under the radar, but he’s as good as they come. He averaged 24 points and 14 rebounds last season in NEPSAC Class AAA, then carried the momentum into a strong spring and summer with The Club New England on the New Balance circuit, where he hung with several Top 100-ranked big men. He’s a physical two-way force inside who also plays with finesse, touch and good footwork.
Sylla is a coup for UMass coach Frank Martin, and the expectation is that he’ll be an immediate contributor and among the best freshmen in the MAC last season. I was told that Sylla is the type of prospect that Martin would have even recruited at his past high-major stops at Kansas State and South Carolina. Ten years ago, Sylla would have probably been a high-major recruit.
COACHES' PICK: Why NEPSAC coaches chose Cheick Sylla among league's best bigs
CATS duo finds homes
On back-to-back days on Sept. 18 and 19, Jaylin Williams-Crawford (Boston, Mass) and Jaxson Terry (Acton, Mass.) announced their commitments to Towson and Loyola Chicago, respectively. Both are key returners at CATS who had strong performances for Expressions Elite in July in their surprise run to the Peach Jam semifinals, and while they didn’t get a lot of high-major recruitment, I think both players have high-level traits that will translate well. Williams-Crawford, as I’ve written, is one of the best defenders in the region with his size at 6-foot-7, length and quickness. Terry is one of the best two-way players in New England who’s a high-level outside shooter.
COMMIT STORIES: Quinn Costello to Michigan | Adama Tambedou to Maryland
Terry ran into some tough luck this year with two injuries that disrupted his recruitment, but he pushed through to be an important contributor at Peach Jam. He earned a Providence offer last summer, so there is some high-major potential there for Terry, a 6-foot-6 guard who has an array of skills, and who knows what would have happened to his recruitment without the injuries. But I have no doubt he’ll be an impact player in the Atlantic 10. Williams-Crawford, likewise, should see the floor early at Towson as an impact defender.
Who’s next?
There are four recruits – Alex Egbuonu (Nashua, N.H.), Cam Hailey (Boston, Mass), Lucas Morillo and Abdou Toure (West Haven, Conn.) – from my latest 2026 watch list whose commitments we’re expecting before the season starts. Egbuonu has taken visits to Marquette, Auburn, and Boston College, and has one scheduled at Providence this weekend. He canceled visits to Georgetown and Florida State, and I’m wondering how Auburn’s chances have been impacted by head coach Bruce Pearl’s sudden retirement last week. The expectation is that Egbuonu will make his decision sometime in November.
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Marquette remains a frontrunner for both Egbuonu and Morillo, and there’s no high-major coach I’ve seen more of in the last calendar year than Golden Eagles head coach Shaka Smart. I’ve seen him at many of Egbuonu’s games – including at the NEPSAC Scholastic Showcase and at the Adidas Palmetto Road Championships in July, and he’s been a presence at Newman’s open gyms in Boston to see Morillo. Smart has invested a lot in the recruitment of both players, and my guess is that he’ll land at least one of them.
