Boilermakers Country

Big Ten Daily: 247Sports 2021 League Basketball Recruiting Rankings

Three Big Ten basketball programs brought in five-star recruits in their 2021 recruiting classes. Michigan currently boasts the top-rated groups of commits, according to 247Sports.

D.J. Fezler

The Big Ten is bringing in some of the top talent in the entire country for the upcoming college basketball season. Michigan, with six commits joining the Wolverines, boasts the No. 1 recruiting class for 2021, according to 247Sports. 

Here's the latest on the conference's 2021 recruiting rankings, as well as some names to keep an eye on ahead of next season. 

Big Ten basketball recruiting rankings

Rank

Team

Commits

5-Star

4-Star

3-Star

Prospect Avg.

1

Michigan

6

2

3

1

96.91

2

Michigan State

3

1

2

0

98.38

3

Nebraska

5

1

1

3

90.99

4

Illinois

3

0

2

1

94.22

5

Wisconsin

4

0

0

4

91.54

6

Nothwestern

3

0

1

2

92.89

7

Purdue

3

0

2

0

98.21

8

Indiana

2

0

2

0

97.97

9

Maryland

2

0

2

0

95.98

10

Ohio State

2

0

1

1

95.28

11

Iowa

2

0

0

2

91.22

12

Minnesota

1

0

0

1

92.60

13

Rutgers

1

0

0

1

89.06

14

Penn State

1

0

0

0

0.00

Michigan Wolverines

Michigan's top-ranked recruiting class is headlined by five-star recruits Caleb Houstan and Moussa Diabate, the two highest-rated players in the state of Florida. 

Houstan, a 6-foot-8 forward from Montverde Academy in Florida, is the 11th-ranked recruit and the fourth-ranked power forward in the country. Diabate is a 6-foot-10 forward from IMG Academy in Badenton, Florida. In the national standings, he with the 12th-ranked recruit and the fifth-ranked power forward.

Houstan and Diabate are the highest recruits to ever play for Michigan basketball, ahead of Glenn Robinson from Lake Central high school in Saint John, Indiana. 

Other recruits: 

Name

School

Rating

Kobe Bufkin

Grand Rapids Christian (Grand Rapids, Michigan)

4-Star

Frankie Collins

Coronado (Henderson, Nevada)

4-Star

Isaiah Barnes

Simeon (Chicago, Illinois)

4-Star

Will Tschetter

Stewartville Senior (Stewartville, Minnesota)

3-Star

Michigan State Spartans

The Spartans are getting the nation's top-rated shooting guard in the country next season with Max Christie from Rolling Meadows, Illinois. He is also the highest-ranked prospect in the state of Illinois. 

Christie is ranked the fifth-highest recruit in program history and is leading the No. 9 class in the country at Michigan State. 

Other recruits: 

Name

School

Rating

Jaden Akins

Ypsi Prep Academy (Ypsilani, Michigan)

4-Star

Pierre Brooks

Douglass Academy (Detroit, Michigan)

4-Star

Nebraska Cornhuskers 

Nebraska's top recruit in 2021 is Bryce McGowens from Legacy Charter in Greenville, South Carolina. He joins the program as the 24th-ranked player in the country. 

Not only is McGowens the top player in his state and the No. 4-ranked shooting guard in this recruiting class, but he is also the highest-rated commit in Cornhusker history. 

Joining McGowens in this recruiting class is Wilhelm Breidenbach from Mater Dei in Santa Ana, California. Breidenbach is a four-star recruit, but he is the program's third-highest rated commit ever. 

Breidenbach is the seventh-highest rated player in California and the 16th-ranked center in the nation. 

Other recruits: 

Name

School

Rating

Oleg Kojenets

Western Reserve Academy (Hudson, Ohio)

3-Star

Quaran McPherson

Link Year Prep (Branson, Missouri)

3-Star

Keisei Tominaga

Ranger College (Ranger, Texas)

3-Star

Illinois Fighting Illini

Luke Goode, a 6-foot-7 forward Homestead in Fort Wayne, Indiana, tops the Illinois 2021 recruiting class. He is the third-ranked prospect in Indiana and the 21st-rated power forward in the country. 

Other recruits: 

Name

School

Rating

Ramses Melendez

Central Pointe Chrisitan (Kissimmee, Florida)

3-Star

Brandin Podziemski

St. John's Northwestern Academies (Delafield, Wisconsin)

3-Star

Wisconsin Badgers

Wisconsin's 2021 recruiting class isn't full of high-profile prospects, but each of the team's four recruits are ranked in the top-five of their respective states. 

Recruits: 

Name

School

Rating

Chucky Hepburn

Bellevue West (Bellevue, Nebraska)

3-Star

Matthew Mors

Yankton - 01 (Yankton, South Dakota)

3-Star

Chris Hodges

Schaumburg (Schaumburg, Illinois)

3-Star

Markus Ilver

Western Reserve Academy (Hudson, Ohio)

3-Star

Northwestern Wildcats

Northwestern's only four-star recruit this year is a 6-foot-5 shooting guard from Milton Academy in Massachusetts, Casey Simmons. 

Simmons is the No. 1 player in his state and the 24th-ranked shooting guard in the country. He is also the second-highest ranked recruit in program history. 

Other recruits: 

Name

School

Rating

Julian Roper

St. Mary's (West Bloomfield, Michigan)

3-Star

Brooks Barnhizer

Jefferson (Lafayette, Indiana)

3-Star

Purdue Boilermakers

Purdue brought in the top two players from the state of Indiana in four-star forwards Trey Kaufman-Renn and Caleb Furst. They are the 45th and 61st-ranked players in the country, respectively. 

Kaufman-Renn is the third-highest ranked recruit in program history. 

Other recruits: 

Name

School

Rating

Brian Waddell

Carmel (Carmel, Indiana)

NA

Indiana Hoosiers

The Indiana Hoosiers' 2021 recruiting class includes the nation's seventh-ranked shooting guard in Tamar Bates, a four-star recruit from IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. 

Bates has been rising as of late in the 247Sports recruiting rankings. He is now the 26th-ranked recruit in this class.

Other recruits: 

Name

School

Rating

Logan Duncomb

Archbishop Moeller (Cincinnati, Ohio) 

4-Star

Maryland Terrapins 

Maryland's 2021 recruiting class includes two four-star prospects that each rank within the top-three players in their respective states. 

Julian Reese, a 6-foot-9 power forward from St. Frances Academy in Baltimore, Maryland, is the No. 14 player at his position and the 43rd in the country overall. 

Other recruits: 

Name

School

Rating

Ike Cornish

Legacy Charter (Greenville, South Carolina)

4-Star

Ohio State Buckeyes 

The Ohio State Buckeyes' top recruit for the upcoming season is Malaki Branham from St. Vincent-St. Mary in Akron, Ohio. 

The 6-foot-4, four-star shooting guard is the No. 6 player in the country at his position and is the highest-rated player in his state. 

Other recruits: 

Name

School

Rating

Kalen Etzler

Crestview (Convoy, Ohio)

3-Star

Iowa Hawkeyes 

Recruits: 

Name

School

Rating

Payton Sandfort

Waukee Senior (Waukee, Iowa)

3-Star

Riley Mulvey

St. Thomas More (Oakdale, Connecticut)

3-Star

Minnesota Golden Gophers

Recruits: 

Name

School

Rating

Treyton Thompson

La Lumiere School (La Porte, Indiana)

3-Star

Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Recruits: 

Name

School

Rating

Jalen Miller

Bishop Walsh School (Cumberland, Maryland)

3-Star

Penn State Nittany Lions 

Recruits: 

Name

School

Rating

Jevonnie Scott

South Plains College (Levelland, Texas)

NA

Related Stories

  • PURDUE RECRUITS' FINAL RANKINGS: Purdue basketball's 2021 recruits Trey Kaufman-Renn and Caleb Furst both rank among 247Sports top power forwards. They are rated as the top two players from the state of Indiana. CLICK HERE 
  • RECRUITS IN THE HALL OF FAME CLASSIC: Purdue 2022 recruits Fletcher Loyer and Braden Smith will compete in the 2021 Raymond James Hall of Fame Classic on Dec. 30. Both players were Indiana Junior All-Stars last season. CLICK HERE
  • BRADEN SMITH COMMITS TO PURDUE: Westfield junior Braden Smith announced his commitment to Purdue on his twitter account. He joins Fletcher Loyer from Homestead High School in Fort Wayne as the second in-state high school recruit from the class of 2022. CLICK HERE

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D.J. Fezler
D.J. FEZLER

D.J. Fezler is a staff writer for BoilermakersCountry.com. Hailing from The Region, he is from Cedar Lake in Northwest Indiana and has spent the last two years covering Purdue football and basketball. 

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