It’s early in regards to the 2018-19 season, but recruiting is a year round operation. Some A-10 teams have done a fantastic job adding talent to their future rosters. While some teams have hit the recruiting trail harder than others, there are other schools that will rely on an influx of transfers to replenish departed players. Though it’s way too early to tell how each team will shape up, here’s a look at the A-10’s best 2018 recruiting classes.
1. Rhode Island Rams
The recent commitments of 4 star forward Jermaine Harris and 3 star point guard Brendan Adams propelled the Rams past Saint Louis. Rhode Island is climbing the ranks, having one of the nation’s best recruiting classes in 2018. Add into the mix Dana Tate and Tyrese Martin, and you’ve got a core of freshmen that will immediately help replenish a very strong departing senior class. Rhode Island will be good for awhile.
2. Saint Louis Billikens
The pick-up of consensus 4 star forward Carte’Are Gordon was enormous for Travis Ford when he came onto the scene at SLU. Since, Ford’s been able to go out and grab Fred Thatch Jr. and recent commit Mickey Pearson. 2018-19 looks like SLU’s chance to go dancing once more, and this class is a huge reason why.
3. Duquesne Dukes
Keith Dambrot has done such a good job recruiting at Duquesne, that’s he’s actually overcommitted for the class of 2018. The Dukes have landed 5 guys from the class of 2018, headlined by 4 star big man Gavin Bizeau. Duquesne brings in plenty of size with guys like Austin Rotroff, and recent commit Brandon Wade will be a great addition to an already-talented Duquesne backcourt.
4. Massachusetts Minutemen
The additions of Samba Diallo and Tre’ Wood make Massachusetts’ 2018 recruiting class good, but perhaps most of its new additions will come from transfers; 4 newcomers will enter Matt McCall’s system next year, in addition to the freshmen, after sitting out mandatory redshirt seasons in 2017-18.
5. Dayton Flyers
Dayton finds itself so high on this list because it’s making the most out of just 2 open scholarship spots. Dwayne Cohill is one of, if not the, best recruits in the A-10 for the class of 2018. With a grade of 82, he finds himself just outside of ESPN’s Top 100, but he’s comparable in talent to Jermaine Harris and Carte’Are Gordon. Anthony Grant still has 1 scholarship spot to play with before the start of the 2018-19 season.
6. VCU Rams
Vince Williams, a 4 star recruit with a grade of 80 according to ESPN, could be the Rams’ next best player in the next couple of seasons. P.J. Byrd and KeShawn Curry have a lot to prove in replenishing what’s always been a very dominant VCU backcourt, but Mike Rhoades and company seem up to the challenge.
7. La Salle Explorers
Dr. G has landed 4 recruits in the class of 2018, headlined by recently added shooting guard Jack Clark, and he’s still got 1 more spot for the 18-19 season. The Explorers will add size their frontcourt in two seasons with Ed Croswell (6-6), Jared Kimbrough (6-8), and Osun Osunniyi (6-10).
8. Saint Joseph’s Hawks
Like Dayton, Saint Joseph’s has landed just 1 commit from the class of 2018, but it’s a big one. Jared Bynum is a 4 star point guard who will be the future of the Hawks’ backcourt when Kimble and Newkirk move on. The Hawks still have 2 spots to fill for their 2018 recruiting class.
9. George Washington Colonials
Recent commit Marcus Littles shines as GW’s top incoming recruit in 2018, as well as MOJO’s best get as a young coach. 2 star recruits Shandon Brown and Chimezie Offurum could be key players in a couple of seasons as well. Given some time, I expect Joseph to build this George Washington team up once more.
10. George Mason Patriots
Jordan Miller should serve as an added weapon to the Patriots’ arsenal of backcourt weapons. Similarly, Jason Douglas-Stanley has a chance to be one of the best shooters in the league. The Patriots are just fine when it comes to their backcourt; they need to get some more weapons in the post.
11. Fordham Rams
Fordham’s backcourt will be fun to watch with the combination of Joseph Chartouny and Nick Honor in 2018-19. Chris Austin is the 2nd and most recent commit for Jeff Neubauer; the Rams will benefit from recent commits, but they’ll need a lot more to get out of the bottom half of the league in the next few seasons.
12. Davidson Wildcats
Davidson has already added 2 recruits with Michael Jones and David Czerapowicz, both 2 stars, but they still have a lot of ground to cover before the start of the 18-19 season. McKillop will lose quite a heavy class of seniors and still has 5 scholarship spots to fill between now and November of 2018.
13. Richmond, St. Bonaventure
Neither team has added anyone from the class of 2018 yet.
