Top-30 recruit Cole Cloer down to 8 schools

Cole Cloer, a high four-star small forward in the 2026 class, is down to eight schools. Moving forward, the 6-foot-7 rising senior of Caldwell Academy (NC) will consider Alabama, Florida, Indiana, Louisville, NC State, North Carolina, UConn, and Virginia.

Cloer is the nation’s No. 26 overall prospect, No. 11 small forward, and the No. 1 recruit in North Carolina in the 2026 cycle according to the On3 Industry Ranking — a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

The Hillsborough, North Carolina native has completed unofficial visits to NC State, Alabama, and North Carolina. He has official visits scheduled with Florida (Sept. 6) and Alabama (Oct. 18) and plans to schedule additional trips.

Prior to cutting his list down, Cloer also held offers from Miami, Oregon, Providence, Villanova, South Carolina, Oklahoma State, Ohio State, Illinois, Georgetown, Tennessee, Mississippi State, Wake Forest, and others.

Cloer talks about programs involved

In a recent interview with On3’s Jamie Shaw, Cole Cloer discussed several of the schools recruiting him.

VIRGINIA: “For me, it’s the new coaching staff that just moved there. They were at VCU, and they have been recruiting me since I was a freshman. I love the coaching staff. With the program, they’re in the ACC, and they’re a legendary program. I love Coach (Ryan) Odom; he’s a great dude, on the court or off the court. I love the way they play. I’ve grown to know Coach (Bryant) Crawford, the assistant over there. They’re all great people.”

ALABAMA: “Nate Oats is one of the best coaches in college basketball, if not the best. I love Coach Murph (Preston Murphy); he is a great guy, a great skill developer. And then it’s the way they play, they shoot a lot of threes. It’s rim twos and threes, so it’s an NBA-type system. They have a lot of guys who come from the league to coach there. They win games and put out pros.”

FLORIDA: “I mean, they’re the defending national champions. They were the best team in the country. I love Coach (Todd) Golden. He is a great coach, a young coach, a player’s coach. It’s also an NBA play style; they put out pros. I feel like coach trusts his guys, which says a lot. Also, with the way they respect him.”

UCONN: “They’ve been the best program in college basketball over the past four or five years. They won back-to-back championships. Coach (Dan) Hurley is a maniac, and that is exactly what you want. You want a coach who loves basketball; you don’t want anything else other than that. I love Coach Hurley and Coach Kimani (Young), and my relationship with them has grown over the past few weeks. They put out NBA players, and they have a system they know works. When you’re their guy, you’re their guy. They’re loyal.”

NC STATE: “I’m excited. I haven’t gotten to know Coach (Will) Wade as much. I just started talking to him when he just got the job. He’s a good coach. He was good at LSU, and he was good at McNeese. It’s close to home, and we grew up Wolfpack fans, so I’m excited.”

UNC: “I’ve grown to know them a lot over the past couple of years. I’ve gone over there a lot. I mean, it’s North Carolina basketball, so it doesn’t get much better than that. It’s close to home, I love Coach (Hubert) Davis, Coach (Jeff) Lebo, and Coach (Sean) May.”

Scouting Report

Cole Cloer stands in the 6-7 range, a scorer. Cloer is a solid straight line athlete with solid length, and a developing wing handle. He is at his best when his game is consolidated, getting to his spots within one or two dribbles. His balance is inconsistent when shooting from three which leads to inconsistent results. Has good length. Nice shooting release that is consistent. Not the best athlete laterally and can play upright at times. Has some explosion that will get him above the rim, especially on set lob plays. Very nice pull up jump shot off a dribble or two. Does not put much pressure on the rim in the half-court, which limits free throw opportunities at times, but he is capable of straight-line driving sloppy closeouts. His brother played football at Cornell. – On3’s Jamie Shaw