Inside The Panthers

Pitt Basketball Contacts More Class of 2026 Recruits

The Pitt Panthers continue to contact more Class of 2026 Recruits, with the "contact period" opening last weekend.

Dominic Campbell

Mar 2, 2024; Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers head coach Jeff Capel reacts to game action against the Boston College Eagles during the second half at Conte Forum. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 2, 2024; Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers head coach Jeff Capel reacts to game action against the Boston College Eagles during the second half at Conte Forum. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports / Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports

PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers started off strong with recruiting in June and have kept it going, as they contacted more recruits this past weekend.

The reason for this recent recruiting upswing is that June 15 marks the first day that NCAA allows college coaches to contact recruits in the Class of 2026. Some coaches start their recruiting at midnight, but every coaching staff will get to work throuhgout the day, sending out text messages and calling recruits.

Pitt contacted six known players from the Class of 2026 this past weekend in Jayden Hodge, Chidi Nwigwe, Jordan Smith Jr., Christian Collins, Sebastian Wilkins and Ben Ahmed.

Jayden Hodge

Hodge is a 6-foot-6 wing who plays for St. Rose High School in Belmar, N.J. He hails from Belgium and plays for the national team at the 2023 FIBA U16 European Championship in Skopje, the capital city of North Macedonia.

He played in 31 games, while averaging 12.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.8 steals per game as a sophomore this past season. He also played for PSA Cardinals on the Nike EYBL 16U Circuit, where he averaged 23.7 minutes, 11.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game.

247Sports and Rivals rank him as a four-star, with 247Sports placing him as the No. 3 recruit in New Jersey, No. 11 small forward and No. 33 in the nation and Rivals rating him as the No. 24 player in the country. On3 rates him as a three-star, the No. 5 player in the state, No. 20 shooting guard and No. 84 player in the nation, in the Class of 2026, repsectively.

He holds offers from Big Ten schools Maryland, Ohio State, Penn State and Rutgers, Big East schools in Villanova and Seton Hall, plus Monmouth, Old Dominion, St. Bonaventure, Temple and Villanova.

Other schools that contacted him, despite not offering him, include Boston College, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Michigan State and NC State.

Chidi Nwigwe

Nwigwe is a 6-foot-7 wing who plays for St. Benedict's Preparatory School in Newark, N.J. He played in 29 games, while scoring 17.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.0 steals per game as a sophomore last season.

247Sports, On3 and Rivals rate him as a four-star. 247Sports has him as the best player in New Jersey, No. 6 shooting guard and No. 21 recruit in the country, On3 rates him as the third best player in the state, No. 9 small forward and No. 24 in the nation, while Rivals ranked him at No. 38 in the United States.

He holds offers from ACC schools Boston College and Georgia Tech, Big Ten schools Illinois, Penn State and Rutgers, Big East schools in Providence, Seton Hall and St. John's, SEC schools in LSU and Texas A&M, A-10 schools in Fordham, Rhode Island and St. Bonaventure, plus Oklahoma State and Washington State.

Along with Pitt, Auburn, Texas Tech, Villanova and Georgetown also contacted him.

Jordan Smith Jr.

Smith is a 6-foot-3 shooting guard who plays for Paul VI Catholic High School in Fairfax, Va.

Rivals rates him as a five-star and the No. 7 recruit in the Class of 2026. 247Sports and On3 have him as a four-star and the best player in Virginia, with 247Sports rating him as No. 3 shooting guard and No. 13 player in the country, while On3 has him at No. 4 shooting guard and No. 14 in the nation.

He holds offers from ACC schools Florida State, Louisville, Syracuse, Virginia and Virginia Tech, Big East schools Georgetown, Providence and Villanova, Big Ten schools Maryland, Michigan, Ohio State and Oregon, Big 12 schools Arizona State, Houston, Kansas and Kansas State, plus Mount St. Mary's, Tennessee, George Mason and Grand Canyon.

Smith received contact from Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Duke, Miami, Michigan State, Missouri, Old Dominion, UConn, Vanderbilt and Xavier, according to Adam Zagoria.

Christian Collins

Collins is a 6-foot-8 wing that plays for Westchester Enriched Sciences Magnets in Los Angeles.

Rivals is the only recruiting site to rank him, giving him a four-star and the No. 30 spot in the Class of 2026.

He holds offers from Cal, USC, Arizona State, Cal State Northridge, San Diego and UT-Arlington. Other schools that contacted him include Washington, UCLA, SMU and Columbia.

Sebastian Wilkins

Wilkins is a 6-foot-8 wing who plays for Brewester Academy in Wolfeboro, N.H. and for Boston on the Adidas 3SSB Circuit.

He is a unanimous four-star and the highest ranked player in New Hampshire. 247Sports rates him as the No. 7 power forward and No. 46 recruit in the nation, On3 ranks him as the No. 5 power forward and No. 55 in the country and Rivals has him at No. 31 in the Class of 2026.

Wilkins holds offers from Rutgers, UMass, rival West Virginia, Providence, Alabama, Texas A&M, Iowa and Boston College. Schools that contacted him, but not yet offered, include Ohio State, Xavier, Georgetown and Virginia Tech.

Ben Ahmed

Ahmed is a 6-foot-10 center who plays for Putnam Sciences Academy in Putnam, Conn. He was a teammate of Pitt Class of 2024 Amdy Ndiaye, who also played for Putnam Sciences Academy.

He is a unanimous four-star, with both On3 rating him the best player in Connecticut, No. 3 center and No. 29 in the country, while 247Sports has him as the No. 2 player in the state, No. 5 at his position and No. 44 in the country. Rivals has him at No. 37 in the nation.

Ahmed holds offers from Akron, Bryant, Cal, Georgia Tech, Iowa, Rhode Island, Rutgers, Texas Tech and Xavier. Other schools that contacted him include Kansas, Providence, UCF, UMBC and Georgetown.

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Dominic Campbell
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