Pitt Contacts 2025 Prospects after Dead Period Ends

The Pitt Panthers have opened a very crucial recruiting cycle by contacting three 2025 prospects.

PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers have just one senior currently on their roster and one 2024 recruit coming in to fill his inevitably open spot. That makes the class of 2025 a crucial recruiting cycle for the future of the program. 

After offering one prospect early this morning in the hours after the dead period ended, the Panthers got to work contacting four other prospects in the class of 2025. 

Kiyan Anthony
So far, Anthony - a four-star shooting guard and the son of former NBA star Carmelo Anthony - is the only 2025 prospect the Panthers have extended an offer to. 

Anthony, who attends Long Island Lutheran in New York, told Joe Tipton of On3 that he is close with an unnamed assistant coach from Pitt and had hoped they reach out when the dead period ended.

Anthony had already held offers from Manhattan, Seton Hall, UMass, George Mason, Memphis, Providence, Illinois, Indiana, Tennessee and, of course, his dad's former team, Syracuse. Plenty of other offers should roll in later this week when more schools are allowed to contact him.

On3 ranks Anthony as the No. 2 player in New York, the No. 14 shooting guard and No. 60 prospect overall in the class of 2025, while 247Sports has him slotted as the No. 3 player in his state, No. 13 at his position and No. 62 in the class. 

Alier Maluk
The Pitt Panthers have a blue-chip prospect in their own backyard and are working hard to keep him at home. 

Alier Maluk, a native of Baldwin, Pennsylvania who attends Imani Christian Academy in Pittsburgh, was contacted by the Panthers just nine minutes after the recruiting dead period had ended. Earlier this year, Maluk had said that Pitt and assistant coach Jason Capel were among the four schoolls recruiting him the hardest. 

Maluk is a four-star prospect on 247Sports and five-star player per Rivals. He is ranked as high as the No. 12 player in his class and the No. 2 player in Pennsylvania. 

Trey McKenney
Pitt was one of ten programs to reach out to the No. 1 player in Michigan in McKenney, who is also unanimously considered a four-star prospect, top 50 player in the class of 2025 and top 10 player at his position in this class as well. 

Arkansas, Providence, Texas, Arizona State, Miami, Michigan State, Indiana, Xavier and Missouri also contacted McKenney. 

He already holds offers from Illinois, Oregon, Iowa, Kansas State, Iowa, Alabama, TCU, LSU, Memphis Stanford, Memphis, Michigan, the Spartans, Hoosiers, Hurricanes, Friars and others. 

Jacob Ross
Pitt extended an offer to his teammate from Long Island Lutheran High School, Kiyan Anthony, and reached out to him on the same night. 

Ross is a four-star prospect and the No. 2 player in New York per 247Sports. 

The 6'5 shooting guard picked up his first offer last spring from Virginia Tech. George Mason came next in the summer and Maryland was the latest to extend an offer this week. After a strong showing at the Nike EYBL AAU event, he should see some more offers materialize over the coming days. 

Ohio State, Mississippi State and Siena have also reached out to Ross.

Tai Turnage
The three-star point guard continued Pitt's trend of recruiting New York heavily. The Panthers reached out just after midnight to Turnage, the No. 3 player in New York (On3) and No. 79 player in the class of 2025 (Rivals). 

He's taken visits to Fordham and Rhode Island while also picking up offers from those two programs alongside Bryant, St. Francis-Brooklyn, Seton Hall, Norfolk State, UMass, Hofstra, St. Peter's, Creighton, Robert Morris, UAB and Mississippi State. 

Jalen Reece
Another addition to Panthers' list of early contacts is 5'11, 155-pound point guard from Oak Ridge High School in Orlando, Florida. He's rated as a four-star player by 247Sports and Rivals, and ranked as high as the No. 8 point guard in his class and the No. 8 player in Florida. 

A somewhat underrated prospect, Reece's recruitment really picked up steam in May. By that point Alabama and Missouri had already offered before Virginia Tech, Illinois and Xavier followed. Texas A&M offered him overnight. 

In addition to Pitt, Texas, Florida State, Ohio State, Texas A&M, SMU, Cincinnati, Providence, Ole Miss, and Illinois all contacted Reece when the dead period ended. He should see even more offers roll in this week. 

Jordan Scott
Jeff Capel, personally contacted Scott a 6'5 shooting guard from Reston, Virginia, alongside Michigan State, Maryland, SMU, Virginia Tech, Florida State, Penn State, Miami, LSU, Illinois, Texas A&M and Washington. 

Scott already holds high major offers from the Nittany Lions, Illini, Panthers, Huskies, Cavaliers, Terrapins and Spartans as well as Cal, George Mason, Richmond, Radford, East Carolina and VCU. 

He holds no ratings from any of the four major recruiting services.

Maleek Thomas
Thomas is not only a coveted five-star prospect but he's the teammate of 2024 Pitt commit Brandin Cummings at Lincoln Park Performing Arts High School in Pittsburgh. The Panthers have already extended an offer but reached out yet again to keep the relationship open. 

Thomas is unanimously considered the No. 1 player in Pennsylvania and shooting guard in the class of 2025. Each of the four major recruiting services rank him in the top 10 of their national prospect rankings for this class as well. On3 has him as high as the No. 3 player in the country. 

Penn State, Villanova, Indiana, St. John's, Kansas State, Missouri, Michigan, Duke, Kentucky, Xavier, UConn, Tennessee, Louisville, Alabama and others have all offered. 

Amari Evans
Pitt, Penn State, Marquette, Iowa State and Providence reached out to another Western Pennsylvania product in Evans, an unrated combo guard. 

Evans has yet to earn an offer from Pitt, but the Nittany Lions and Golden Eagles have extended offers alongside Long Island, Robert Morris, Bryant and Oklahoma State. 

Danny Carbuccia
Pitt continues to zero in on the state of New York as they contact four-star Archbishop Stepinac point guard Danny Carbuccia. Seton Hall, Kentucky, Seton Hall and Virginia Tech all reached out as well. 

On3 and 247Sports have Carbuccia ranked as the No. 1 player in New York and a top 10 point guard in the class of 2025. Rivals ranks him as the No. 19 overall prospect in his class. 

Stony Brook, St. Louis, LIU Brooklyn, UMass, Fordham, St. Bonaventure's, St. Peter's, Robert Morris, Fairfield, Seton Hall, Providence, West Virginia, St. John's and East Carolina have all extended offers. 

Koa Peat
Peat, a 6'7, 200-pound, five-star small forward from Gilbert, Arizona who plays his high school ball at Perry High School, added an offer from the Panthers in May and they recontacted him after the dead period. While the coaching staff will be willing to chat with him whenever he wants, Peat can also tap his cousin, former Pitt guard Jamarius Burton, for any advice or insight he needs. 

The Panthers will be counting on that connection with Burton to help them stand out among a crowded field of suitors. Peat is the unanimous No. 1 prospect in Arizona, a consensus top-three small forward and top-six player in his class and he has an offer sheet to match.

Michigan State, Houston, North Carolina, Kentucky, Ole Miss, Florida, Mississippi State, Butler, Cal, and Washington State have all offered Peat, the Gatorade Player of the Year in Arizona from this past season. LSU, Michigan, Arizona State, Arizona, Stanford, Virginia, Michigan State, Memphis, UCLA, Illinois, Nebraska and Baylor. 

Tacko Fawaz 
This 6'11 center from the Patrick School in New Jersey was another one of the impressive prospects Pitt reached out to at the conclusion of the dead period. Ranked as high as the No. 14 center and No. 123 overall prospect in the class of 2025 (On3) Fawaz is rated as a four-star prospect (Rivals).

Jalen Rougier-Roane
Pitt was among the many to reach out to Rougier-Roane, a 6'5 and 190-pound junior from the Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D.C. 

Maryland, Virginia Tech, Miami, San Diego, Penn State, Towson, Xavier, Yale, Providence, VCU, Virginia, George, Washington, UMBC, Indiana, Notre Dame. The Nittany Lions, Hokies, Musketeers and Marquette have all extended offers. 

Nate Ament
Sticking in the DMV area, the Pitt staff reached out to 6'8, 170-pound shooting guard Nate Ament of Manassas, Virginia and Colgan High School, but they weren't the only ones. In fact, more than 20 schools reached out. 

Iowa, Indiana, Stanford, Syracuse, LSU, FAU, Texas, Wake Forest, VCU, Virginia, SMU, Mississippi State, Illinois, Florida State, Penn State, Maryland, Virginia Tech, Charleston and more contacted Ament, a four-star prospect and the No. 1 player in Virginia (On3). 

Derek Dixon
Washington, D.C. was a popular area for the Panthers this week as they contacted another four-star prospect from the nation's capital. This comes after He took an unofficial visit to Pittsburgh last October. 

Derek Dixon, the No. 2 player in the state and a top-100 prospect in the class of 2025. He had reportedly also heard from Virginia Tech, Penn State, Maryland, Marquette, Syracuse, James Madison, George Washington, and Providence.

Xavier, Maryland, Penn State, Syracuse, St. Joseph's, George Mason, East Carolina, George Washington, Kansas State, Forham, Norfolk State and Byrant make up the Gonzaga High School standout's offer sheet. 

Joson Sanon
The Panthers reached back up north to Massachusetts to contact 6'5 and 180-pound small forward Joson Sanon, who's considered the No. 1 player in his state and a top 15 player in the class of 2025 by both Rivals and On3, who also rate him a five-star prospect. 

Kentucky, Indiana, LSU, Providence, Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Syracuse, Washington, Boston College and SMU all reached out as well. He holds offers from Providence, Bryant, Boston College, Iowa, Marquette, Nebraska, Alabama, Georgetown, Georgia Tech, Connecticut and Washington.  

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