Unsigned Forwards Add Offers
Notre Dame Prep’s Jarrell Brantley and Lee Academy’s Rudolfs Stradnieks were two of the big winners of this weekend’s National Prep School Invitational as both unsigned forwards walked away with multiple new scholarship offers.
Brantley helped Notre Dame Prep to a 3-0 record on the weekend, including the game winning defensive play on Friday night when he came up with a steal in the final seconds of the Crusaders’ game against Mount Zion. The six-foot-seven forward earned game MVP honors after also scoring 20 points.
Following the weekend, the South Carolina native now holds scholarship offers from James Madison, Fairfield, Charleston, North Carolina Greensboro, North Carolina Central, Stephen F. Austin, and Maryland Eastern Shore. He was also receiving interest from a variety of other mid-major programs as well.
Lee Academy’s Rudolfs Stradnieks had an almost equally productive weekend. The Pandas finished with a 2-0 record at the event, scoring a 64-61 win over GB Academy on Thursday and following that up with a 63-54 win over Thetford Academy on Friday. The six-foot-nine forward was productive in both games, finishing with 12 points in each.
That was all it took to bring in a trio of new offers as Evansville, Wright State, and Niagara all came calling, joining a list that already including Miami (OH) and Drexel.
Brantley and Stradnieks weren’t the only players to help themselves this weekend. Here are some other notable recruiting developments to come out since the NPSI came to a close:
- Boston College joined Providence to become the second high-major school to offer Wilbraham and Monson junior forward Wenyen Gabriel after he more than held his own in a match-up with Thon Maker and Orangeville Prep on Saturday;
- The Friars came calling for sophomore center Samuel Japhet-Mathias who helped Vermont Academy to a 74-67 win over Blair Academy on Sunday. The big man already held offers from UConn, Georgetown, and Clemson;
- Notre Dame Prep post-graduate guard Winston Morgan picked up new interest from division I programs including Gardner-Webb, Texas State and South Dakota.