Will Wade Lands LSU Tigers Basketball's Second Five-Star Recruit This Week

Will Wade and the LSU Tigers Men's Basketball program are here to play. 2028 five-star center Xavier Young has committed and will reclassify from the 2028 class to the 2027 class, per Joe Tipton of On3Sports. This is their second five-star-level recruit of the week.

Young reclassifying to the 2027 class did drop him down to a four-star in the On3 rankings for now, but he's still an elite player who makes this recruiting cycle even more exciting. He is now the No. 17 overall recruit in his new cycle and the third-best center.

The center was also being recruited heavily by the Tennessee Volunteers, Michigan Wolverines, Maryland Terrapins and TCU Horned Frogs, so this is another big win over some more blue-blood programs in the sport. The Tigers have quickly become someone to take seriously on the recruiting trail.

This was the plan when the team brought back Wade. It's fair to point out that the program had struggled over the last few years in large part due to the punishments felt from Wade being removed, but LSU is past that and ready to invest in a coach that they know can pull it off.

Wade went heavy on the veteran and international presence for their roster this year, with little time to prep on the high school side, but their year-long cycle is off to a fantastic start in high school. Some outlets already had their 2027 class as the No. 1 in the country, and this will bring them to the top of a few people who had them lagging.

Aside from the rankings side, this now gives them a very complimentary four-player class. They have a great guard duo of Reese Alston and King Gibson, a power forward in Ahmad Hudson and now Young is the center of the future.

Center wasn't as big of a need as the other positions, with Michael Ruzic being just a freshman and eligible for next year, but there's nothing wrong with loading up depth and competition.

Young is a very young player who is still just 16 years old. He'll be 17 as a freshman and will have to spend at least two seasons in college before he can declare for the NBA draft due to a rule that states that you have to be at least 19 in the calendar year of the draft. He will be expected to develop into an elite college post presence with a very real chance to make it to the next level.