On3 Consensus Team Recruiting Rankings: Top 2022 basketball classes ahead of early signing period

The 2021-2022 college basketball season may have started Tuesday night but that doesn’t mean it isn’t too early to look ahead to the 2022-23 campaign, especially with the early signing period starting Wednesday.

Basketball recruits will have a week to sign their National Letters of Intent during the early signing period. If they do not, they will have to wait until the regular signing period starts in April. Here is a breakdown of the top 15 recruiting classes in the On3 Consensus Team Recruiting Ranking ahead of the early signing period.

1. Kentucky (98.844)
4 five-stars | 0 four-stars | 0 three-stars | 4 total recruits
Top Commit: SG Shaedon Sharpe, No. 1 in On3 Consensus
Summary: Getting four five-star recruits in one recruiting class — especially after a down season — is like a three-towered ice cream sundae. When one of those recruits is the No. 1 player in the country, that’s a massive cherry on top of the sundae. All four recruits are expected to sign early, according to On3’s Joe Tipton. And Sharpe will enroll early, although he will not play until next season.

2. Duke (98.444)
3 five-stars | 0 four-stars | 0 three-stars | 4 total recruits
Top Commit: C Dereck Lively II, No. 2
Summary: Mike Krzyzewski may be leaving the bench at the end of the season but the Blue Devils brand has grown beyond the legendary head coach. This recruiting class, which features the No. 1 center (Lively), No. 1 small forward (Dariq Whitehead) and No. 1 power forward (Kyle Filipowski) in the country, proves that.

3. Oregon (97.250)
1 five-stars | 1 four-stars | 0 three-stars | 2 total recruits
Top Commit: PG Dior Johnson, No. 8
Summary: One of the three classes in the top 15 with only two commits, the Ducks class has two of the top 21 players in the country. Johnson, out of Corona, Calif., is the No. 1 point guard in the nation. North Little Rock (Ark.) center Kel’el Ware is the highest-ranked four-star recruit in the country.

4. UCLA (97.111)
2 five-stars | 1 four-stars | 0 three-stars | 3 total recruits
Top Commit: SG Amari Bailey, No. 5
Summary: Mick Cronin may not be a California native but he is embracing the power the Bruins hold in the area. Bailey plays at SoCal powerhouse Sierra Canyon, five-star center Adem Bona is from Napa, Calif., and four-star point guard Dylan Andrews goes to school four miles down the 405 at Los Angeles Windward School.

5. Texas (96.533)
1 five-stars | 1 four-stars | 0 three-stars | 2 total recruits
Top Commit: PG Arterio Morris, No. 18
Summary: Chris Beard is off to a great start at Texas. Morris, who will sign his NLI at 9:45 a.m. CT Wednesday, cited his relationship with Beard as the top reason why he committed to the Longhorns. As for Montverde Academy four-star small forward Dillon Mitchell, his commitment prompted assistant coach Ulric Maligi to skydive out of a plane.

6. Kansas (95.911)
0 five-stars | 4 four-stars | 0 three-stars | 0 total recruits
Top Commit: SF MJ Rice, No. 27
Summary: The highest-ranked program without a five-star commit — and only team in the top nine without one — Kansas has built its class around a core of really good four-stars. Rice leads the group, but center Ernest Udeh Jr. and small forward Gradey Dick rank No. 29 and No. 33 in the country, respectively.

7. Arkansas (95.811)
1 five-stars | 3 four-stars | 1 three-stars | 5 total recruits
Top Commit: PG Nick Smith Jr., No. 10
Summary: Convincing Smith, one of the best prospects in recent memory from Arkansas, to stay at home for college was a major win for Eric Musselman. The class would have been great if he was the only player in the class. But Musselman has also recruited four other recruits all ranked in the top 125 nationally. Four-star small forward Jordan Walsh will be a great running mate for Smith.

8. Alabama (95.433)
2 five-stars | 2 four-stars | 0 three-stars | 1 junior college | 5 total recruits
Top Commit: Brandon Miller, No. 15
Summary: Nate Oates has been a sensational hire at Alabama, and this recruiting class is the latest evidence of that. Miller and five-star point guard Jaden Bradley gives him two top-20 recruits in the class. The Crimson Tide picked up a commitment Tuesday from Richardson (Texas) shooting guard Rylan Griffen.

9. USC (95.178)
1 five-stars | 2 four-stars | 1 three-stars | 4 total recruits
Top Commit: C Vince Iwuchukwu, No. 12
Summary: Like UCLA, Andy Enfield is also using the Trojans pull in Southern California to form the core of his class. But he also managed to get Iwuchukwu, who plays at Montverde Academy and is from San Antonio.

10. Ohio State (94.500)
0 five-stars | 3 four-stars | 1 three-stars | 5 total recruits
Top Commit: C Felix Okpara, No. 48
Summary: The Buckeyes have two top-50 recruits in Okpara and four-star point guard Bruce Thornton. The only Ohio recruit in the class is Cincinnati (Ohio) Princeton three-star shooting guard Bowen Hardman.

11. Virginia (94.456)
0 five-stars | 3 four-stars | 0 three-stars | 4 total recruits
Top Commit: PF Isaac Traudt, No. 40
Summary: The Hoos have gone all over the country for its four recruits. Traudt is from Nebraska, four-star small forward Leon Bond is from Milwaukee, four-star shooting guard Isaac McKneely is from West Virginia and small forward Ryan Dunn is from New York.

12. Houston (94.322)
1 five-stars | 2 four-stars | 0 three-stars | 3 total recruits
Top Commit: PF Jarace Walker, No. 20
Summary: Fresh off a Final Four run, Houston has the top recruiting class among non-Power Six teams. Walker, out of IMG Academy, is the star of the class. But small forward Terrance Arceneaux and shooting guard Emanuel Sharp combine to make up a really good trio.

13. LSU (94.250)
1 five-stars | 1 four-stars | 0 three-stars | 2 total recruits
Top Commit: PF Julian Phillips, No. 19
Summary: LSU’s class has two 6-foot-8 forwards in Phillips and Terry (Miss.) small forward Devin Ree. Phillips is Will Wade’s first On3 Consensus five-star since Trendon Watford in 2019.

14. Villanova (94.233)
0 five-stars | 3 four-stars | 0 three-stars | 3 total recruits
Top Commit: SF Cam Whitmore, No. 30
Summary: Whitmore is best player in the state of Maryland and four-star combo guard Mark Armstrong is the second-best player in the state of New Jersey. On3 is very high on four-star shooting guard Brendan Hausen, placing him at No. 36 in the On3 100.

15. North Carolina (94.178)
0 five-stars | 3 four-stars | 1 three-stars | 4 total recruits
Top Commit: PF Jalen Washington, No. 32
Summary: Hubert Davis may not have a five-star recruit in his first recruiting class, but he has built a very solid group of prospects. He has done it, interestingly, by heading to the Midwest. Washington is out of Gary (Ind.) West Side and four-star point guard Seth Trimble — No. 34 in the On3 Consensus — is from Menomonee Falls (Wisc.).