Gonzaga recruiting target Jalen Haralson cancels upcoming visits

Five-star recruit scheduled a visit with Purdue for this weekend and canceled trips to Kansas and Missouri, according to 247Sports

La Lumiere junior Jalen Haralson (32) defends teammate Ace Bucker during an open practice Thursday, Nov. 9, 2023, at the La Porte Civic Auditorium. / Austin Hough / South Bend Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK

Five-star recruit Jalen Haralson, a top 15 player in the 2025 class, is nearing a decision after canceling upcoming recruiting trips with two of his finalists, according to 247Sports.

The 6-foot-7 senior from La Lumiere School (Indiana) won’t be going on official visits with Kansas or Missouri, the latter of which was scheduled for this upcoming weekend, and will instead be in West Lafayette, Indiana, on an official visit with Purdue on Sept. 21. It’ll be the fourth consecutive recruiting weekend for Haralson, who’s already been to Indiana (Labor Day), Notre Dame (Sept. 7) and most recently Michigan State (Sept. 14).

"I feel like whenever I have that gut feeling that I'll know," Haralson said to 247Sports. "I'm getting close to that decision and I think that I will make it really soon. I don't know the exact date yet but I think it will be really soon after I get back from the Purdue visit.”

Haralson is the No. 14-ranked recruit in the country and the top high school player in the state of Indiana according to 247Sports. He’s the No. 2-ranked small forward in the 2025 class behind only AJ Dybantsa, who’s the overall No. 1 player in the class.

Gonzaga, which is one of Haralson’s nine finalists that he listed out back in March, was not one of the schools named on his fall recruiting tour. In May, he told 247Sports that he thought he’d visit Spokane within the next couple of months, though the highly-touted recruit hasn’t officially arranged a visit. Duke, Indiana, Michigan State, Missouri, Notre Dame, Purdue, Auburn and Kansas are the other finalists.

Haralson has been on Mark Few and the coaching staff’s radar for a while now, as he received a scholarship offer from the program in June 2023. Not only would his commitment make him one of the highest-ranked recruits in program history with the likes of Chet Holmgren, Jalen Suggs and Hunter Sallis; but it would also set the program up nicely for the future.

The Zags have seven seniors on the roster for the 2024-25 season. That includes both starting guards Nolan Hickman and Ryan Nembhard, as well as Graham Ike, Michael Ajayi, Khalif Battle and Ben Gregg. The coaching staff has a lot of talent to replace for the 2025-26 season, and landing a commitment from one of the top-ranked recruits in the 2025 class would aid in that process.

Few and company landed its first commit in the 2025 class earlier this summer when four-star recruit Davis Fogle decided to choose Gonzaga over Kansas and Creighton. Since he committed on the Fourth of July, Fogle has ascended the recruiting rankings to near top-30 status as he dominated some of the top AAU circuits this summer with Seattle Prep. 

The Zags missed out on five-star combo guard Isiah Harwell, a top-10 player in the 2025 class who instead committed to Houston last week.

The Bulldogs remain in the mix for four-star wing Nikolas Khamenia and five-star point guard Kingston Flemings, both of whom have Gonzaga in their list of final five schools, as well as four-star small forward Efeosa Oliogu. Flemings, a top 25 player in the class, scheduled a visit to Gonzaga for Oct. 4-6 and is slated to be in attendance for the Kraziness in the Kennel event on Oct. 5. Oliogu

Looking ahead to the 2026 class, Gonzaga is set to be the first school to host the top-ranked center in the class, Sam Funches, on an official visit. The 6-foot-10 high school junior will be in Spokane from Feb. 14-16.