5-star recruit Asa Newell chooses Georgia over Gonzaga

Top-ranked power forward in 2024 class decides to stay close to home

Another highly-touted recruit in the 2024 class has spurned the Gonzaga Bulldogs.

Asa Newell, a five-star and one of the top-ranked power forwards in the country, will stay close to home to play for the Georgia Bulldogs he announced on Wednesday. The 6-foot-9 senior becomes the third-highest-ranked recruit in program history.

The Montverde Academy (Florida) product chose the Bulldogs over Gonzaga, Alabama and Texas. He also fielded offers from Indiana, Auburn, Kansas and Michigan among others.

The Athens, Georgia, native was a borderline top-10 recruit across major recruiting databases. Newell was graded as the No. 8 prospect and second-best power forward on 247Sports Composite, while ESPN Top 100 ranked him the best recruit coming out of Georgia. Rivals.com had Newell as the 16th-ranked player in the 2024 class.

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In addition to playing college ball in his hometown, Newell will team up with his older brother Jaden, who was a former walk-on at Georgia and will be a redshirt freshman for the Bulldogs in 2023-24. Newell took two official visits to Georgia, including the weekend of Oct. 7 while Gonzaga held its Kraziness in the Kennel event across the country. Newell took a trip to Spokane on a visit in late July.

While Georgia secured its first recruit in the 2024 class, the Zags have yet to land a commitment. Trent Perry, a four-star combo guard and top-50 recruit in the class, chose USC over the likes of Gonzaga and others two weeks ago. Recruiting will likely slow down once the early signing period ends in November, as Mark Few and the coaching staff turn their direction toward arguably their top-priority recruit.

Zoom Diallo, the No. 1 point guard on 247Sports, has yet to set a timeframe for his commitment. The 6-foot-4 Prolific Prep (California) product went on official visits with Washington and Arizona most recently, though the Bulldogs are still heavily in the mix.

Gonzaga is also set to host Isiah Harwell, a five-star in the 2025 class, in February.

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