Report: AJ Hoggard trims list of finalists to five schools

One of the top transfers available on the market has reportedly trimmed his list to a final five, with Michigan State‘s AJ Hoggard honing in on his next destination.

CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein reports that Hoggard has narrowed his list to Florida, Georgia, USC, Vanderbilt and Washington.

Each of those programs has something a little different to offer, while Hoggard offers the chance to add an elite piece to the rotation going into the 2023-24 season.

Hoggard is coming off a season in which he averaged 10.7 points, 5.2 assists and 3.1 rebounds per game — none of which were career highs for him. Hoggard saw a very slight reduction in minutes as a senior for the Spartans due to the makeup of the lineup.

As a junior he was also electric, scoring 12.9 points, dishing 5.9 assists and hauling in 3.7 rebounds per game.

He’s got tremendous upside as a 6-foot-4 perimeter player with a well-rounded game.

Prior to enrolling at Michigan State, AJ Hoggard was ranked as a three-star prospect and the No. 74 overall player in the nation in the 2020 recruiting class, according to the On3 Industry Rankings.

He also checked in as the No. 16 point guard in the class and the No. 3 overall player from the state of West Virginia, hailing from Wayne (PA) Huntington Prep.

Alabama lands coveted Rutgers transfer

After entering the NCAA transfer portal, former Rutgers center Cliff Omoruyi has officially committed to the Alabama Crimson Tide, On3 has learned.

Omoruyi was one of the most coveted bigs in the transfer portal following his entrance in March, spending the first four seasons of his college career with the Scarlett Knights where he become one of the program’s most dominant centers in school history. Known for cleaning glass, blocking shots, and getting buckets are a high efficiency at 6-foot-11.

Originally a Benin City, Nigeria native, Omoruyi played his high school basketball Roselle Catholic in New Jersey, where he was a four-star recruit. Ranked the No. 47 overall prospect in the nation and the No. 8 center from the 2020 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

After starting in just six games with 23 game appearances as a true freshman, he started and played in 98 the past three seasons for Rutgers. Where he averaged 11.8 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks per game.

Omoruyi has been a Second-Team All-Big Ten selection, a two time All-Big Ten Honorable Mention, and a two-time member of the First-Team All-Big Ten Defensive Team. Ranking No. 4 all time in Rutgers’ program history in career rebounds, No. 4 in field goal percentage, and tied for sixth all-time in career blocks.

On3’s Kaiden Smith also contributed to this report.