Inside The Panthers

Pitt Basketball Misses Final Cut for Top Target

Pitt Panthers basketball missed the final cut for a top target in 2025.

Dominic Campbell

Niko Bundalo on his unofficial visit to Pitt
Niko Bundalo on his unofficial visit to Pitt / Niko Bundalo's Instagram

PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers will miss out on one of their top basketball targets in the Class of 2025, as he didn't place them in his final cut.

Niko Bundalo announced his final four schools in Michigan State, North Carolina, Ohio State and UConn, according to Joe Tipton of On3. Bundalo placed Pitt in his top eight schools on Aug. 5, as well as SEC schools in Kentucky and Texas, plus Xavier, who miss out.

Bundalo is a four-star power forward, that stands at 6-foot-10. He previously played for Western Reserve Academy, a co-ed boarding and preparatory school in Hudson, Ohio, inbetween Cleveland and Akron, but transferred to Prolific Prep in Napa, Calif.

Pitt offered Bundalo on July 9, 2023 and took an unofficial visit to Pitt on Aug. 26, 2023. He never set up an official visit to Pitt, making it unsurprising that they missed out on his final four schools.

247Sports ranks Bundalo as the No. 5 player in California, No. 7 power forward and No. 31 player in the country, Rivals rates him as the No. 5 player at his position and No. 30 in the United States and On3 ranks him as No. 4 in the state, No. 7 power forward and No. 17 in the nation. 

Bundalo is the second Class of 2025 recruit to cut Pitt out of his final list of schools. Four-star wing Davion Hannah from Glendale, Wis., who plays for Link Academy, a boarding school in Branson, Mo., cancelled his visit to Pitt on Oct. 19 and instead focused on Alabama, Missouri, Ohio State and Cincinnati.

Pitt has also missed out on two players who had them in their final list of schools. Four-star guard Derek Dixon out of Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C. had them in his final four schools, but chose to commit to North Carolina.

Four-star wing Cornelius "C.J." Ingram II out of Hawthorne High School in Hawthorne, Fla. had Pitt in his top 10 schools, but decided to commit to Florida, where his dad played football.

Pitt has one commitment in the Class of 2025 in four-star guard Omari Witherspoon who plays for St. John's College High School in Washington, D.C.

Two other Pitt basketball targets have their commitment dates set for the future. Four-star guard Isaiah Denis of Davidson Day School in Davidson, N.C. has Pitt in his final seven schools and will commit on Nov. 2.

Four-star wing Amari Evans, who played for Bishop Canevin in Pittsburgh and is now with Overtime Elite in Atlanta, will pick between Pitt, Tennessee and Xavier on Nov. 1.

Pitt is also still in the top seven schools for five-star guard Meleek Thomas.

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Dominic Campbell
DOMINIC CAMPBELL

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