From Cooper Flagg to Tre Johnson, these top basketball recruits made the NCAA Tournament

In the final ranking of class of 2024 men’s college basketball recruits, the 247Sports Composite designated 29 players as five-star prospects.

These are the cream of the crop when it comes to high school basketball recruits, players who harbor legit hopes at having a one-and-done college season and leading their teams to NCAA Tournament glory in the process.

For some of these 29 players, that dream is still alive. Others fell well short of individual or team expectations — sometimes both — during this college basketball season.

With the 2025 NCAA Tournament set to begin Tuesday night with First Four action in Dayton, Ohio, here’s a look at the 22 five-star basketball recruits from last year’s recruiting class who will be taking part in March Madness.

The five-star recruits from the 2024 recruiting class who didn’t make this year’s NCAA Tournament were No. 2 Ace Bailey (Rutgers), No. 3 Dylan Harper (Rutgers), No. 7 Jalil Bethea (Miami), No. 9 Jayden Quaintance (Arizona State), No. 13 Donnie Freeman (Syracuse), No. 21 Bryson Tucker (Indiana) and No. 25 Joson Sanon (Arizona State).

None of Kentucky’s three freshmen this season — Collin Chandler, Trent Noah and Travis Perry — were ranked as five-star recruits.

Which top class of 2024 college recruits made the 2025 NCAA Tournament?

Players are listed in order of their final 2024 high school recruiting ranking from the 247Sports Composite.

▪ No. 1 Cooper Flagg (Duke): A leading candidate to be named the national player of the year, the 6-foot-9 Flagg is averaging 18.9 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.3 blocks per game for the 1-seeded Blue Devils.

Duke will begin NCAA Tournament play at 2:50 p.m. Friday against the winner of a 16-seed play-in game between American and Mount St. Mary’s.

▪ No. 4 VJ Edgecombe (Baylor): A 6-foot-5 guard who elected to go to Baylor over Duke and Kentucky, Edgecombe is averaging 15.0 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.1 steals per game for the 9-seeded Bears.

Baylor will begin NCAA Tournament play at 12:15 p.m. Friday against 8-seeded Mississippi State.

▪ No. 5 Tre Johnson (Texas): A 6-foot-6 guard from North Texas who led the SEC in scoring this season, Johnson is averaging 19.8 points while shooting 39.2% on 3-pointers for the 11-seeded Longhorns.

Johnson was named the SEC’s freshman of the year this season.

Texas will play Xavier in an 11-seed play-in game at 9:10 p.m. Wednesday. If Texas wins that game, then the Longhorns will play 6-seeded Illinois at 9:45 p.m. Friday.

The winner of that round of 64 game between Illinois and either Texas or Xavier will then play the winner of a game between 3-seeded Kentucky and 14-seeded Troy in the round of 32.

▪ No. 6 Khaman Maluach (Duke): A 7-foot-2 center who picked Duke as his college destination from a list of finalists that included Kentucky, Maluach is averaging 8.3 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.2 blocks for the Blue Devils.

Duke will begin NCAA Tournament play at 2:50 p.m. Friday against the winner of a 16-seed play-in game between American and Mount St. Mary’s.

▪ No. 8 Ian Jackson (North Carolina): A 6-foot-4 guard who dramatically picked UNC in his college recruitment from a group of final schools that included UK, Jackson is averaging 12.4 points while shooting 39.6% on 3-pointers this season for the Tar Heels, who were controversially selected as the last at-large team in this year’s NCAA field.

North Carolina will play San Diego State in an 11-seed play-in game at 9:10 p.m. Tuesday. If UNC wins that game, then the Tar Heels would face 6-seeded Ole Miss at 4:05 p.m. Friday in the round of 64.

▪ No. 10 Derrion Reid (Alabama): A 6-foot-8 forward who has been dealing with a hamstring injury recently, Reid is averaging 6.4 points and 3.0 rebounds for the 2-seeded Crimson Tide this season. After being sidelined for a month dating back to mid-February, Reid returned for Alabama in last week’s SEC Tournament.

Reid played nine minutes for Alabama as the Crimson Tide eliminated UK from the tournament at the quarterfinals stage.

Alabama will begin NCAA Tournament play at 12:40 p.m. Friday against 15-seeded Robert Morris.

▪ No. 11 Drake Powell (North Carolina): A 6-foot-6 guard, Powell is averaging 7.5 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.0 assists for the 11-seeded Tar Heels, the final at-large team picked for this year’s NCAA field.

North Carolina will play San Diego State in an 11-seed play-in game at 9:10 p.m. Tuesday. If UNC wins that game, then the Tar Heels would face 6-seeded Ole Miss at 4:05 p.m. Friday in the round of 64.

▪ No. 12 Derik Queen (Maryland): A 6-foot-10 center who was chosen by both coaches and media members as the Big Ten’s freshman of the year, Queen is averaging 16.3 points, 9.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.1 blocks and 1.1 steals for the 4-seeded Terrapins.

Maryland will begin NCAA Tournament play at 4:35 p.m. Friday against 13-seeded Grand Canyon.

▪ No. 14 Will Riley (Illinois): A 6-foot-8 forward from Canada who was one of Mark Pope’s first major recruiting targets at Kentucky, Riley is averaging 12.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists for the 6-seeded Fighting Illini.

Riley was originally part of the 2025 recruiting class before moving up an age level and reclassifying to the 2024 recruiting group.

Illinois will begin NCAA Tournament play at 9:45 p.m. Friday against the winner of an 11-seed play-in game between Texas and Xavier. The winner of this round-of-64 matchup between Illinois and either Texas or Xavier will play the winner of a game between 3-seeded Kentucky and 14-seeded Troy in the round of 32.

▪ No. 15 Isaiah Evans (Duke): A 6-foot-6 guard, Evans is averaging 7.6 points and is shooting 43.9% on 3-pointers for the 1-seeded Blue Devils.

Duke will begin NCAA Tournament play at 2:50 p.m. Friday against the winner of a 16-seed play-in game between American and Mount St. Mary’s.

▪ No. 16 Asa Newell (Georgia): A 6-foot-11 forward, Newell is averaging 15.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.0 blocks and 1.0 steals for the 9-seeded Bulldogs, who are in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2015.

Georgia will begin NCAA Tournament play at 4:35 p.m. Thursday against 8-seeded Gonzaga.

▪ No. 17 Flory Bidunga (Kansas): A 6-foot-9 forward, Bidunga is averaging 5.9 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.6 blocks for the 7-seeded Jayhawks, who have had a disappointing season relative to their perch as the No. 1 team in the preseason AP poll.

Kansas will begin NCAA Tournament play at 7:10 p.m. Thursday against 10-seeded Arkansas.

▪ No. 18 Liam McNeeley (UConn): A 6-foot-7 forward, McNeeley is averaging 14.5 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists for the 8-seeded Huskies, who are attempting to win three consecutive NCAA titles.

UConn will begin NCAA Tournament play at 9:25 p.m. Friday against 9-seeded Oklahoma.

▪ No. 19 Kon Knueppel (Duke): A 6-foot-7 guard who has been one of Duke’s breakout stars this season, Knueppel is averaging 14.4 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.0 steals while shooting 39.2% on 3-pointers for the 1-seeded Blue Devils.

Duke will begin NCAA Tournament play at 2:50 p.m. Friday against the winner of a 16-seed play-in game between American and Mount St. Mary’s.

▪ No. 20 Boogie Fland (Arkansas): A 6-foot-2 guard who was signed to play at Kentucky before ex-UK coach John Calipari left for Arkansas, Fland is averaging 15.1 points, 5.7 assists and 1.5 steals for the 10-seeded Hogs.

Fland underwent surgery in January for a right thumb injury, but he’s expected to return and play for Arkansas in the NCAA Tournament. Fland hasn’t played in a game since Jan. 18.

Arkansas will begin NCAA Tournament play at 7:10 p.m. Thursday against 7-seeded Kansas.

▪ No. 22 Karter Knox (Arkansas): A 6-foot-6 forward who was once committed to play at UK before Calipari left for Arkansas, Knox — who is a younger brother of former Kentucky one-and-done star Kevin Knox — is averaging 7.8 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.1 assists for the 10-seeded Razorbacks this season.

Arkansas will begin NCAA Tournament play at 7:10 p.m. Thursday against 7-seeded Kansas.

▪ No. 23 Aiden Sherrell (Alabama): A 6-foot-10 forward , Sherrell is averaging 3.3 points and 2.9 rebounds for the 2-seeded Crimson Tide this season.

Alabama will begin NCAA Tournament play at 12:40 p.m. Friday against 15-seeded Robert Morris.

▪ No. 24 Carter Bryant (Arizona): A 6-foot-8 forward, Bryant is averaging 6.4 points, 4.1 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 1.0 blocks for the 4-seeded Wildcats this season.

Arizona will begin NCAA Tournament play at 7:35 p.m. Friday against 13-seeded Akron.

▪ No. 26 Patrick Ngongba II (Duke): A 6-foot-11 center who committed to Duke over Kansas State and Kentucky in the recruiting process, Ngongba is averaging 3.6 points and 2.7 rebounds this season for the 1-seeded Blue Devils.

Ngongba missed his senior high school season and the first two weeks of this college basketball season due to injury.

Duke will begin NCAA Tournament play at 2:50 p.m. Friday against the winner of a 16-seed play-in game between American and Mount St. Mary’s.

▪ No. 27 Billy Richmond III (Arkansas): A 6-foot-5 forward who was previously committed to play at Kentucky before Calipari left for Arkansas, Richmond is averaging 5.6 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists for the 10-seeded Razorbacks.

Richmond is the son of Billy Richmond Jr., who played for Calipari at Memphis in the early 2000s.

Arkansas will begin NCAA Tournament play at 7:10 p.m. Thursday against 7-seeded Kansas.

▪ No. 28 Rob Wright (Baylor): A 6-foot-1 guard, Wright is averaging 11.3 points, 4.3 assists and 1.0 steals per game this season for the 9-seeded Bears.

Baylor will begin NCAA Tournament play at 12:15 p.m. Friday against 8-seeded Mississippi State.

▪ No. 29 Tahaad Pettiford (Auburn): A 6-foot-1 guard, Pettiford is averaging 11.0 points and 2.9 assists for the 1-seeded Tigers, who are also the top overall seed for the 2025 NCAA Tournament.

Pettiford was one of five players named to the SEC’s all-freshman team this season.

Auburn will begin NCAA Tournament play at 2:50 p.m. Thursday against the winner of a 16-seed play-in game featuring Alabama State and Saint Francis (Pa).

This story was originally published March 18, 2025 at 7:00 AM.

Cameron Drummond

Lexington Herald-Leader

859-242-5257

Cameron Drummond works as a sports reporter for the Lexington Herald-Leader with a focus on Kentucky men’s basketball recruiting and the UK men’s basketball team, horse racing, soccer and other sports in Central Kentucky. Drummond is a second-generation American who was born and raised in Texas, before graduating from Indiana University. He is a fluent Spanish speaker who previously worked as a community news reporter in Austin, Texas. Support my work with a digital subscription