Center Isaiah Miranda Includes UCLA Men's Basketball in Top 8

One of the top big men in the country has already come out west to wrap up his high school career, and he could stick around the region for college.

Class of 2023 center Isaiah Miranda announced his top eight semifinalists Friday evening, and UCLA men's basketball made the cut. USC, Oregon, Louisville, Georgetown, Texas, UConn and Rhode Island are the other programs that remain in contention for Miranda, a Rhode Islander who is set to play his senior year at Southern California Academy (CA).

Miranda had previously received offers from Arizona State, DePaul, Georgia Tech, Maryland, Memphis, Oklahoma State, Providence, Rutgers, Seton Hall, St. John's, Syracuse, VCU, Virginia Tech and Washington, but those schools are out of the running for the time being.

2023 Top-30 recruit Isaiah Miranda is down to eight schools, he tells @On3Recruits.

He breaks down each program: https://t.co/FmenuKQNNk pic.twitter.com/Hm4mkfOejG
— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) September 2, 2022

Miranda has already visited several of the campuses on his shortlist, and he stopped by Westwood in June.

Coming in at 7-foot-1, the Pawtucket, Rhode Island, native spent the past few years moving across the Northeast before heading west. Miranda played his freshman year at Tolman High School (RI), then went to the Phelps School (PA) for two years before returning to New England and enrolling at Commonwealth Academy (MA) in Springfield – the birthplace of basketball.

Miranda broke out at the 2021 Pangos All-American Camp in Las Vegas, and he shined in his debut with Commonwealth later that year. Miranda made the Zero Gravity Prep Classic All-Tournament First Team by proving he can shoot 3s off the dribble, slam home put-back dunks and have enough hops to see well above the rim.

A few months later, Miranda was back at the 2022 Pangos All-American Camp, and he earned a spot on the 1st Team All-Pangos.

Associate head coach Darren Savino – a New Jersey native who held positions at St. John's and Seton Hall before joining Mick Cronin at Murray State and Cincinnati – has strong ties to the Northeast and mid-Atlantic recruiting circles, and he has played a major role in Miranda's recruitment.

Miranda is a consensus four-star and top-40 prospect in the country, and he was the No. 1 recruit in Massachusetts before transferring to Southern California Academy. According to the 247Sports Composite, Miranda is ranked as the No. 5 center in the country, the No. 9 player in California and the No. 33 overall recruit in his class.

UCLA has one commit in its 2023 recruiting class, with four-star power forward Devin Williams committing on Aug. 28. Adding Miranda to the mix alongside him would give the Bruins plenty of options down low moving forward, should five-star freshman Adem Bona decide to go one-and-done after this upcoming season.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF ISAIAH MIRANDA/TWITTER