VJ Edgecombe cuts list to five, decision coming soon

A decision is coming soon for five-star shooting guard VJ Edgecombe, according to ESPN’s Paul Biancardi.

During Friday’s City of Palms Classic semifinal matchup on ESPNU, Biancardi revealed on the air that Edgecombe is down to just five schools — Kentucky, Duke, Baylor, Florida, and St. John’s — before adding that the native of class of 2024 prospect is inching closer to making a final decision.

“This season, that’s all I’m gonna tell you. This season, that’s all I got for y’all,” Biancardi was told by Edgecombe. Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog first reported the news.

Earlier this week, Kentucky assistant coach Chuck Martin was at the City of Palms Classic to watch Edgecombe in person. Edgecombe told On3’s Joe Tipton at the time that he was “leaning one way” and done taking visits.

Watch Edgecombe on ESPNU tonight

On Friday night in Fort Myers, FL, Edgecombe and Long Island Lutheran (NY) took down Jasper Johnson — another high-profile Kentucky recruit — and Link Academy (MO) by a final score of 76-63 during the semifinals of the City of Palms Classic.

Edgecombe finished with 17 points, five rebounds, seven assists, and two steals on 6-14 shooting in the victory. Meanwhile, Johnson, a five-star combo guard from the class of 2025, recorded 10 points and four rebounds on 3-11 shooting. Like Edgecombe, Johnson holds an offer from Kentucky and is being heavily recruited by head coach John Calipari.

With Friday’s win, Edgecombe and Long Island Lutheran have earned the right to take on No. 1 Montverde Academy (FL) in the title game this evening, which features the top-ranked recruit from the 2024 class, Duke commit Cooper Flagg. Montverde took down Paul VI (VA) 69-62 on Friday night in the semifinals, with Flagg dropping 10 points, four rebounds, and four assists.

Edgecombe is considered the No. 5 overall high school senior in the country, according to the On3 Industry Ranking. Kentucky and Duke are thought to be the two schools leading the charge for his talents. The Wildcats and Blue Devils hold the No. 2 and No. 1 2024 recruiting classes in the nation, respectively. Both schools have five commits locked in for this cycle — wherever Edgecombe lands will likely put that school at the top spot for good.

Tipoff for tonight’s championship matchup is set for 9:00 p.m. EST on ESPNU.