College Basketball Analyst Raves About 2026 Purdue Commit Luke Ertel
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Over the last year, Luke Ertel's stock on the recruiting front has risen tremendously. He's jumped from a three-star to a four-star recruit and is considered a top-50 prospect according to the recruiting experts at Rivals. Now, the future Boilermaker is getting praise from ESPN college basketball analyst Fran Fraschilla.
Ertel, a 6-foot-1 guard from Mt. Vernon High School in Indiana, committed to Purdue in August 2024. Although he's exploded in terms of his recruiting rankings over the past year, he's held firm on his pledge to coach Matt Painter and the Boilermakers.
Many are already drawing comparisons to current Purdue point guard Braden Smith, one of the top players in program history. Fraschilla is projecting a bright future in West Lafayette for Ertel.
"An embarrassment of riches for Matt Painter and (Purdue basketball)," Fraschilla wrote on X. "Four years of Braden Smith and likely four more years of (Luke Ertel). A classic Indiana HS PG."
An embarrassment of riches for Matt Painter & @BoilerBall. Four years of Braden Smith & likely four more years of @ErtelLuke. A classic Indiana HS PG. @Dame_Lillard #TheFormula pic.twitter.com/GdtDlJDbFt
— Fran Fraschilla (@franfraschilla) August 8, 2025
Not only will Purdue transition from Smith to Ertel, it also has Omer Mayer on the roster, another really talented point guard who arrived in West Lafayette late this summer.
It's a good problem to have for Painter and his staff.
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Dustin Schutte is the publisher of Purdue Boilermakers on SI and has spent more than a decade working in sports journalism. His career began in 2013, when he covered Big Ten football. He remained in that role for eight years before working at On SI to cover the Boilermakers. Dustin graduated from Manchester University in Indiana in 2010, where he played for the men's tennis team.
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