How Many of Purdue's 2026 Commits Are McDonald's All-American Nominees?
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Purdue has had just one McDonald's All-American player commit to the program under coach Matt Painter. That could change this year, though, as all four members of the Boilermakers' 2026 recruiting class have been listed as nominees this year.
Guards Luke Ertel and Jacob Webber, forward Rivers Knight and center Sinan Huan have all been listed as nominees for 2026 McDonald's All-American honors. Huan was included on the list of East nominees, while Ertel, Webber and Knight were on the West list.
Purdue's lone McDonald's All-American under Painter was Caleb Swanigan, a five-star forward in the 2015 recruiting class. He spent two seasons in West Lafayette and was an All-American selection in his sophomore campaign.
All four members of Purdue's 2026 recruiting class have committed to the program and signed their National Letter of Intent. It's a group that ranks fifth in the 247Sports national recruiting rankings and is third in the Big Ten.
Here's a look at where each of Purdue's four commits stand in the individual recruiting rankings for the 2026 class, per 247Sports.
Player | Position | Height | National rank | Star rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Luke Ertel | PG | 6-foot-1 | 41 | 4-star |
Jacob Webber | SG | 6-foot-6 | 63 | 4-star |
Sinan Huan | C | 7-foot | 82 | 4-star |
Rivers Knight | PF | 6-foot-8 | 209 | 3-star |
It's a big class for Purdue, which will have to replace a lot of talent from its 2025-26 squad. The Boilermakers will lose Braden Smith, Fletcher Loyer and Trey Kaufman-Renn, all three of whom have spent their entire careers in West Lafayette. Purdue will also lose senior center Oscar Cluff and senior forward Liam Murphy.
McDonald's All-American rosters will be set in the coming weeks. Each team will consist of 12-man rosters.
Painter talks about Purdue's recruits
After all four players signed their National Letter of Intent, Painter spoke about what each player will bring to the program. Here's what he had to say about all four of Purdue's incoming recruits.
Luke Ertel
"I don't know if I've ever seen a high school guy that we've taken with more intestinal fortitude. Just a determined player, tough, hard-nosed, gets after it, picks you up full court, birddogs the basketball. He's really improved his arsenal in terms of shooting the basketball. Not just catching and shooting, but getting to his pull-up, getting to bodies, bouncing off bodies, being able to make floaters and runners. He's put a lot of time into his game."
Jacob Webber
"Jacob Webber gives us great positional size as a guard. He's probably the best move-and-shoot guy in the country. Great size, has an uncanny ability to be able to sprint in and get his feet organized and be able to twist all in one motion and shoot from 25 to 28 feet, and do it consistently. He's just an absolute weapon on the court, you have to give him a lot of attention, and you have to stick with him."
Rivers Knight
"We were very fortunate to get Rivers Knight. He didn't play this past summer. Good size, quick release, prolific shooter, also. A guy who can really stretch the defense, and I think that's a very important thing at that four position ... I think having a guy like Rivers, who has range to 25 feet and can consistently knock down shots, is really going to help you. I think he has more to him as a player."
Sinan Huan
“Sinan gives us exactly what we were looking for in the center position. He is a player that can change the game on the defensive end, not just blocking shots but by being a deterrent in the lane. He has an absolutely huge upside in terms of playing inside and outside. What really drew us to him is giving us another big presence to go with Daniel (Jacobsen) and Raleigh (Burgess). We knew we needed help on the frontline after losing Oscar (Cluff), Trey (Kaufman-Renn) and Liam (Murphy) and we are really excited about his upside on both ends of the floor.”
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DAVIS SCHEDULES PURDUE VISIT: The 2025 Illinois Gatorade Player of the Year and a four-star point guard has scheduled a visit to Purdue in mid-February. He is a member of the 2027 class. CLICK HERE
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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