Massive Pitt Target Cancels Other Official Visit

A Pitt Panthers target has called off one of his official visits.

Stephen Thompson | Apr 1, 2024

Louisville basketball's Brandon Huntley-Hatfield (5) got a shot off against Virginia Tech's Lynn / Sam Upshaw Jr./Courier Journal / USA

PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers are locked in on one of the best centers available in the transfer portal and they might have gotten some good news regarding his recruitment this week.

Former Louisville big man Brandon Huntley-Hatfield had three official visits scheduled after hitting the transfer portal - to NC State, Pitt and Indiana. Now he has just one left on his calendar after taking his visit to see the Wolfpack and canceling his trip to see the Hooisers, according to a report from On3's Joe Tipton. His visit to Indiana was scheduled for a week before his trip to Pittsburgh.

Huntley-Hatfield's transfer follows the firing of head coach Kenny Payne, who went 12-22 during his two seasons leading the Cardinals. He was one of the few bright spots for those teams, averaging 12.3 points and 8.4 rebounds per game while making 57% of his field goals and 42% of his 3-points, albeit on very limited attempts, during the 2023-24 season.

Huntley-Hatfield, who was ranked as highly as a five-star prospect by 247Sports and ESPN, played his high school ball at Scotland Campus Prep, located about two and a half hours by car from Pittsburgh. On3 and 247Sports considered him the No. 1 player in Pennsylvania in the class of 2021 and he held offers from Tennessee, Kentucky, Memphis, Baylor, Florida State, Kansas and others.

The Panthers lost starting center Federiko Federiko to the transfer portal and a player like Huntley-Hatfield, who stands 6'10 and weighs 240 pounds, could give them the kind of muscle on the inside that they missed sorely last season.

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Published Apr 1, 2024

STEPHEN THOMPSON

Stephen Thompson graduated with a bachelor's degree in communications and political science from Pitt in April 2022 after spending four years as a sports writer and editor at The Pitt News, the University of Pittsburgh's independent, student-run newspaper. He primarily worked the Pitt men's basketball beat, and filled in on coverage of football, volleyball, softball, gymnastics and lacrosse, in addition to other sports as needed. His work at The Pitt News has won awards from the Pennsylvania News Media Association and Associated College Press. During the spring and summer of 2021, Stephen interned for Pittsburgh Sports Now, covering baseball in western Pennsylvania. Hailing from Washington D.C., family ties have cultivated a love of Boston's professional teams and Pitt athletics, and a fascination with sports in general. You can reach Stephen by email at stephenethompson00@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter. Read his latest work: