Arizona in the Mix for Nation's Top Recruit

Arizona is staying busy on the recruiting trail and looking to bolster the 2027 recruiting class.

Mar 26, 2025; Newark, NJ, USA; Arizona Wildcats head coach Tommy Lloyd looks on during a practice session in preparation for an East Regional semifinal game against the Duke Blue Devils at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Since taking over Arizona, head coach Tommy Lloyd has been one of the most successful up-and-coming coaches in college basketball going 112-33 over the course of the last four seasons making the NCAA Tournament each season and leading the program to three Sweet Sixteen appearances.

This past season, Lloyd and his program entered a new era of Arizona basketball with the Wildcats leaving the Pac-12 and joining the Big 12 Conference. In UA’s first season in a new conference, the team went 24-13 while finishing third in the conference standings.

Mar 27, 2025; Newark, NJ, USA; Arizona Wildcats guard Caleb Love (1) drives to the basket against Duke Blue Devils guard Kon Knueppel (7) during the first half during an East Regional semifinal of the 2025 NCAA tournament at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images | Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images

In the Big 12 Tournament, the Wildcats made it to the conference title game and fell 72-64 to Houston, which would go on to play for the National Title.

Following the end to the season, Arizona lost star guard Caleb Love to graduation and forward Carter Bryant to the NBA Draft where he went No. 14 overall to the San Antonio Spurs.

Plus, Arizona saw two key players in KJ Lewis and Henri Veesaar leave the program and transfer to Power 4 programs.

Despite that, Arizona will be fully loaded again with four key returners in Jaden Badley, Tobe Awaka, Anthony Dell’Orso and Motiejus Krivas. Plus, Lloyd and his staff signed the No. 2 recruiting class according to 24/7 Sports.

Now, Arizona is locking in on the recruiting trail again and working to put together another high-level class for the 2026 recruiting cycle.

However, this is also the time where coaches begin to look at the 2027 class and start to lay the foundation for their decision dates in the future.

Mar 27, 2025; Newark, NJ, USA; Arizona Wildcats guard Jaden Bradley (0) shoots the ball against Duke Blue Devils guard Tyrese Proctor (5) during the first half during an East Regional semifinal of the 2025 NCAA tournament at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images | Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images

Lloyd and his staff always make sure to turn over every rock and even go back to check on the status of high-level recruits across the country to see if they can get a footing in the recruitment.

The No. 1 recruit for the 2027 class is small forward and five-star prospect Bruce Branch lll, who has a 6-foot-7, 190-pound frame out of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., where he plays for Prolific Prep.

Well, while on the road for recruiting, Lloyd and his staff made sure to drop by Prolific Prep showing that Arizona is highly interested in the talented wing.

It will be interesting to see when Branch schedules a visit to Tucson sometime for the regular season of college basketball, or during the summer of 2026. If so, it shows that the trip to Florida by Lloyd might’ve helped get the WIldcats in the middle of the action for his talents.

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