Breaking Down Purdue Basketball's 2022 Recruiting Class
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The Purdue basketball program's 2022 recruiting class has been filled out, and head coach Matt Painter will be bringing in four new faces to campus as freshmen next season.
Recruits Fletcher Loyer, Braden Smith, Camden Heide and William Berg will step foot on campus and join redshirts Trey Kaufman-Renn and Brian Waddell to form a group of six members in the class.
Without taking into account Berg's recent commitment, the Boilermakers boast the 26th-ranked recruiting class in the nation, good for sixth in the Big Ten. The program is also poised to bring in the No. 4 overall recruit class in 2023, which tops the conference.
Here's a full breakdown of all the incoming freshman for Purdue basketball:
Fletcher Loyer, Homestead High School
Position: SG
Height: 6-foot-5
Rating: 4-star recruit
Hometown: Fort Wayne, Indiana
Homestead Spartans' Fletcher Loyer (2) shoots a free throw in overtime against the Lawrence North Wildcats during the game Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021, at Lawrence North High School. The Homestead Spartans defeated Lawrence North Wildcats 55-50 in overtime.
Lee Klafczynski/for IndyStar via Imagn Content Services, LLC
Loyer headlines the Boilermakers' incoming 2022 recruiting class, rated as a four-star recruit and the No. 84 overall recruit in the nation, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. He is ranked as the 17th-highest recruit in program history and chose Purdue over offers from Michigan, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Utah and Missouri.
He is the No. 3 overall prospect in the state of Indiana and No. 8 among shooting guards. During his junior season, Loyer led Homestead High School to a 25-1 record and the No. 1 ranking in Indiana. He originally lived in Clarkson, Michigan, before moving to Fort Wayne for his final two years of high school.
Loyer's brother, Foster, played at Michigan State before transferring to Davidson before the 2021-22 season. Foster was Michigan's Mr. Basketball in 2018. However, Fletcher ended up as the runner-up in the 2022 Indiana Mr. Basketball voting behind Smith.
As a senior Loyer was named the 2022 Indiana Gatorade Player of the Year after averaging 26.9 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.2 steals per game for Homestead. He led the team to a 22-6 mark, which included a Class 4A sectional title.
READ MORE: Loyer Named 2022 Indiana Gatorade Player of the Year
In his two seasons at Homestead, Loyer tallied 1,360 points, 272 rebounds, 212 assists and 113 steals. He shot 40.8% from the 3-point line during his junior and senior seasons combined.
Loyer won the national 3-point contest as part of the 2022 High School Slam Dunk and 3-Point Championships on Match 29 in New Orleans.
READ MORE: Loyer Wins National High School 3-Point Contest
Braden Smith, Westfield High School
Position: PG
Height: 6-foot
Rating: 3-star recruit
Hometown: Westfield, Indiana
Westfield High School's Braden Smith (1) drives the lane on Saturday, March 6, 2021, during sectional finals at Carmel High School. Carmel beat Westfield 53-27.
Robert Scheer/IndyStar via Imagn Content Services, LLC
Smith, a three-star recruit from Westfield High School, is ranked as the No. 30 point guard prospect in the country for the class of 2022 and a top-10 player in the state of Indiana. He garnered four total offers and chose Purdue over Appalachian State, Montana and Toledo.
Smith announced his commitment to Purdue back on April 29, 2021, less than a week after receiving the offer from Painter. He is the first Division I recruit in Westfield's history.
As a junior, he led Westfield to an 18-5 overall record before a sectional defeat by eventual state champion Carmel High School and future Boilermaker teammate Brian Waddell. Smith averaged 22.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 2.7 steals per game while shooting over 45% from 3-point range.
In his final year of high school, Smith was named 2022 Indiana Mr. Basketball after putting up 18.3 points, 6.0 assists, 6.0 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game. Westfield collected its first sectional championship in program history and finished with a 22-7 overall record.
READ MORE: Smith Named 2022 Indiana Mr. Basketball
Smith finished as Westfield’s all-time leading scorer with 1,629 career points and had 476 rebounds, 453 assists and 158 career steals.
Camden Heide, Wasatch Academy (Utah)
Position: SF
Height: 6-foot-5
Rating: 3-star recruit
Hometown: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Wayzata's Camden Heide (161) goes up for a dunk during a Purdue Men's Basketball Elite Camp, Saturday, Aug. 24, 2019, at the Cordova Recreational Sports Center in West Lafayette. Purdue Men's Elite Basketball Camp.
Nikos Frazier | Journal & Courier, Lafayette Journal & Courier via Imagn Content Services, LLC
Heide was the first out-of-state recruit to sign his letter of intent for the Boilermakers. The 6-foot-5, 180-pound forward out of Minnesota is listed as a three-star recruit but is the third-ranked player out of his state and a top-30 player in the country at his position.
He led Wayzata high school to a 2021 state championship before transferring to Wasatch Academy in Utah over the summer. As a junior, he averaged almost 18 points and six rebounds per game while shooting above 40% from the 3-point line.
Heide received 10 offers but committed to Purdue over Creighton, Iowa, Marquette, Ohio State, Texas, Wisconsin, Arizona and others.
William Berg, Riksbasketgymnasiet Lulea
Position: C
Height: 7-foot-1
Rating: Unrated recruit
Hometown: Stockholm, Sweden
Following Berg's official signing on Wednesday, Purdue rounds out its 2022 recruiting class. The 7-foot-1 recruit is currently an unrated player before entering the college ranks.
READ MORE: Berg Officially Signs With Purdue Basketball
Berg originally committed to the Boilermakers back on Dec. 10, 2021, a week after visiting for the team's victory over Iowa. He pulled in a total of five offers and chose Purdue over the likes of Illinois and Utah State.
He represented Sweden on the U16 and U18 National Teams and competed in the U18 Nordic Championships. Berg scored 28 points with 14 rebounds, 4 blocks and 4 steals in his last outing.
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