Fort Wayne 4-Star Forward Caleb Furst Commits to Boilermakers
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Another piece in the 2021 recruiting puzzle fell on Monday night, and Caleb Furst landed right into Purdue's lap.
Furst, a 4-star recruit from Blackhawk Christian in Fort Wayne, is a 6-foot-8, 215-pound forward with a ton of skills. He announced his commitment on Twitter. He picked the Boilermakers over Michigan State, Virginia, Ohio State and Indiana, among others.
He’s the Boilermakers’ first Class of 2021 commitment. He is the second-ranked player in the loaded class in the state of Indiana. (The top-ranked player, Evansville point guard Khristian Lander, committed to Indiana last week).
Furst is ranked No. 31 in the country in the 247sports.com composite. He is averaging 22.3 points, 13.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.9 blocked shots this season. Blackhawk, a 2A school, has played a loaded schedule this year to showcase Furst, playing 13 Class 4A schools this season.
Furst has had a lot of big games. He scored 25 points and grabbed 20 rebounds in a victory over Marion on Feb. 18. Blackhawk opens state tournament play Wednesday against Whitko at the Class 2A Manchester Sectional.
“Coach (Matt) Painter was the first one to offer me and then he stayed strong through the finish line. Showed me that they really saw me as a valuable piece to their program,” Furst told Outside the Huddle. “Just being able to see the way he develops big men, it is a huge encouragement.”
Furst has stayed quiet about how he was leaning in the recruiting process, and the announcement caught a lot of people off guard Monday night.
“Me and my family just prayed about it and talked about it over the past few days. I was at peace with the decision and it felt like the right time,” Furst said.
First is the highest ranked Purdue recruit since Homestead's Caleb Swanigan in 2015. Much like Swanigan, who was from the Fort Wayne area, being close to Purdue was a big plus.
“The family aspect of it all, with all of the coaches and players, it was just something I wanted to be a part of,” Furst told Outside the Huddle. “In my opinion, I think Purdue has the best fans in the world. I’ve been to games at Mackey and it gets louder than any place I have ever been.”
