Inside The Panthers

Pitt Climbs Recruiting Rankings After Papa Kante Commitment

The Pitt Panthers now own a top-25 recruiting class.

Stephen Thompson

Pitt Climbs Recruiting Rankings After Papa Kante Commitment
Pitt Climbs Recruiting Rankings After Papa Kante Commitment /
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PITTSBURGH -- Jeff Capel earned a massive, unexpected win in the transfer portal this week when four-star center Papa Kante abandoned his NLI to Michigan and recommitted, this time to the Pitt Panthers and announced that he would join the program this season. 

With Kante's commitment, the Panthers' already strong recruiting class continued to move up national rankings across the industry. 

Rivals moved Pitt's 2023 class up into the top-25 for the highest ranking of any of the major recruiting services. They rank the Panthers 22nd nationally, sandwiched in between No. 21 Colorado and No. 23 UCLA, and No. 3 in the ACC, trailing just Duke and Louisville.

Meanwhile, 247Sports - once they officially add Kante to the class - will rank the Panthers No. 19 overall, leapfrogging Tennessee, Kansas State, Alabama, Houston, Colorado, Notre Dame, Virginia and Illinois. That would move the Panthers up ten spots from No. 29 and up two spots in the conference rankings from fifth to third, once again just behind the Cardinals and Blue Devils. 

On3 is the least bullish on the Panthers' latest class, but still has them well within the top 30 of their national rankings. They have ranked Pitt No. 27 nationally, just ahead of the likes of Gonzaga, Houston, NC State, Missouri and Marquette. That's good for fourth in the ACC behind Duke, Louisville and North Carolina. 

All three services have Pitt with three of their four commits - Kante, Jaland Lowe and Carlton Carrington - as four-star prospects. Marlon Barnes is the lone three-star in the class. The Panthers will also add transfers in former High Point Panther Zack Austin and Rhode Island Ram Ishmael Leggett and still have one more scholarship at their disposal. 

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Stephen Thompson
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:

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