Purdue Basketball Extends Offer to 4-Star Center in 2026 Class
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Matt Painter and the Purdue basketball staff is already looking ahead to the 2026 recruiting class. On Tuesday, four-star center Ethan Taylor announced that he had received an offer from the Boilermakers.
Taylor is listed as a 6-foot-10, 230-pound center in the 2026 recruiting class. The talented prospect out of Shawnee, Kan. ranks as the No. 58 overall player of the cycle.
"After a great conversation with the coaching staff I am very bless to receive an offer from (Purdue)," Taylor wrote on X.
After a great conversation with the coaching staff I am very blessed to receive an offer from @BoilerBall @SmnwHoops @MokanBasketball pic.twitter.com/PCorKxMgtL
— Ethan Taylor (@3thantaylor24) July 3, 2024
Purdue becomes the fifth school to extend an offer to Taylor. He's also received interest from Missouri, Missouri State, Missouri-Kansas City and Tennessee.
According to KCHShoops.com, Taylor averaged 10.4 points, 8.9 rebounds and 3.6 blocks per game during the 2023-24 high school season at Shawnee Mission Northwest. He also recorded seven double-doubles and had 12 games with at least four blocked shots.
Recruiting talented big men is obviously nothing new for Painter and the Boilermakers. Purdue has become known for putting talented centers on the floor, including JaJuan Johnson, A.J. Hammons, Isaac Haas, Matt Haarms and Zach Edey.
On the 2024-25 roster, Purdue has a pair of 7-footers in sophomore Will Berg and freshman Daniel Jacobsen.
Purdue has offered six players in the 2026 recruiting class, four of which are guards. Taylor is the only center currently to receive an offer from the Boilers.
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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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