ESPN Continues to Show Major Respect to 2026 Purdue Commit Luke Ertel

Purdue commit continues to earn respect from the recruiting analysts at ESPN. He may have started out as a three-star prospect, but the future Boilermaker guard has climbed into the top 75 of the network's latest 2026 college basketball recruiting rankings.

Just one month ago, ESPN re-evaluated its rankings for members of the 2026 recruiting class, placing Ertel at No. 98 on the list. Now, the Mt. Vernon star has catapulted more than 30 spots and is now ranked as the No. 65 player in the cycle.

Ertel is one of just 14 players ranked in the top 100 of the 2026 recruiting class who is already committed to a program.

Ertel's bump from ESPN comes after an outstanding summer with Indiana Elite on the Adidas 3SSB Circuit. He averaged19.2 points and 5.4 assists per game and shot 40% from behind the three-point line. He also posted an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.32.

With those numbers, the future Boilermaker ranked second in assists, seventh in scoring, fifth in assist-to-turnover ratio, and ninth in three-point percentage on the circuit, per Synergy Basketball.

Ertel also had an outstanding junior campaign during the IHSAA boys basketball season. During the 2024-25 campaign at Mt. Vernon, the 6-foot-1 guard averaged 22.7 points, 4.0 assists, 6.4 rebounds, and 1.4 steals per game. He also shot 51% from the floor and 45% from three-point range. The Marauders finished the season with a 21-6 record, reaching the semi-state round of the IHSAA Boys Basketball Tournament.

With the latest bump, Ertel ranks No. 65 at ESPN, No. 46 at Rivals and No. 53 at 247Sports.

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