Rutgers followed up a huge win on the court with a monster win on the recruiting trail.
Pilot “Ace” Bailey, a five-star, top-10 prospect in the class of 2024, announced his commitment to the Scarlet Knights on Sunday, a person with knowledge of the commitment told NJ Advance Media. Ranked sixth in the 247Sports Composite rankings, the Georgia native is the highest-rated recruit to commit to Rutgers in program history.
The news comes an hour after the Scarlet Knights defeated Ohio State in an overtime thriller on Sunday.
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The listed 6-foot-10, 185-pound Bailey took three visits to Rutgers last year. He was involved in Sunday’s overtime win over Ohio State at Jersey Mike’s Arena, committing to the locker room crew after the contest. After the contest, he spent time with assistant coach Brandyn Knight, his primary recruiter, in the corridors of the arena.
Bailey first took an unofficial visit to campus in June with his Athletes Of Tomorrow AAU program, where he is teammates with Class of 2023 commit Jamike Davis, before taking an official visit in September.
Bailey joins four-star guard Delquan Warren in the Scarlet Knights’ 2024 class.
Rutgers has one scholarship remaining through the 2024-25 season, but more space will almost certainly open up after this point. The Scarlet Knights are likely to pursue another top-10 talent in the 2024 class in Don Bosco Prep star Dylan Harper, the younger brother of program great Ron Harper Jr.
Here is Rutgers’ projected roster entering the 2024-25 season (labeled by years of eligibility remaining):
1 year — Cliff Omoruyi (C), Dean Reiber (F), Mavot Mag (F), Oscar Palmquist (F), Jalen Miller (G)
2 years — Derek Simpson (G), Antwone Woolfolk (F), Antonio Chole (F)
3 years — Gavin Griffiths (F), Jaimeke Davies (G)
4 years — Delquan Warren (G), Ace Bailey (F).
Rosters are fluid in college basketball, now more than ever; Early entry into the NBA draft and transfers are always possible. This will almost certainly not be the exact roster that Rutgers will have in November of 2024.
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Brian Fonseca can be contacted [email protected].
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