Elite SF Justin Edwards Picks Up UCLA Men's Basketball Offer After Announcing Top 7

The top class of 2023 prospect had announced Kentucky, Auburn, Kansas at the end of April but now has the Bruins to consider as well.

One of the top recruits in the nation already narrowed down his list of contenders, but that didn't keep the Bruins from shooting their shot.

Class of 2023 small forward Justin Edwards picked up an offer from UCLA men's basketball on Sunday night, less than a week after he announced his list of seven semifinalists. Edwards said on April 28 that he was down to Kentucky, Tennessee, Auburn, Villanova, Maryland, Kansas and the NBA G League.

Edwards had offers from UConn, DePaul, Georgetown, LSU, Marquette, Miami (FL), Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Seton Hall, South Carolina, St. John's, Syracuse, Virginia and Virginia Tech before he cut down his list, and it remains to be seen which side UCLA falls on.

Some of the schools Edwards is considering are in the midst of some turnover, though, with Villanova and Maryland both entering their first year with a new coach and Kentucky and Tennessee each employing coaches in their mid-60s. Kentucky also lost their top recruiting assistant coach when Jai Lucas took a job at Duke on April 29.

Edwards has taken an unofficial visit to Maryland and official visits to Kentucky and Tennessee, while also receiving multiple in-home visits from Kentucky coach John Calipari.

With Edwards hailing from Philadelphia, Villanova certainly has the proximity advantage over every other program, but UCLA currently has the advantage of being the only West Coast school still in on his recruitment.

The 6-foot-7 Edwards led Imhotep Charter (PA) to a 29-4 record as a junior this season, and he has since gone on to standing out for Team Final on the Nike EYBL circuit. Edwards is one of the top scorers so far this spring season, ranking No. 2 in points per possession with 1.14.

During the first evaluation period in Orlando at the beginning of April, Edwards averaged 19.2 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.0 block per game for Team Final. One of Edwards' teammates on Team Final that weekend was forward Jack Seidler, a high school senior who recently committed to UCLA as a preferred walk-on.

Edwards is a consensus five-star prospect and No. 1 player in Pennsylvania. The 247Sports Composite has Edwards pegged as the No. 6 small forward in the nation and No. 10 prospect in his class.

UCLA had two class of 2023 shooting guard targets commit elsewhere on Sunday, with local prospect Dusty Stromer committing to Gonzaga and Midwest product Rayvon Griffith committing to Cincinnati. With Jaime Jaquez Jr., Tyger Campbell, David Singleton, Jules Bernard and Amari Bailey all likely to leave the program before the 2023-2024 season, coach Mick Cronin will have to cobble together his largest recruiting class yet.

Edwards is one of a handful of elite recruits UCLA is still in on, with five-star power forward Ron Holland, five-star power forward KJ Evans, five-star shooting guard Ja'Kobe Walter, five-star point guard Isaiah Collier, four-star forward Andrej Stojakovic and four-star forward Milan Momcilovic standing out as the top targets remaining.

Without a commit for that 2023 class, though, the Bruins will need to start closing on some of those recruits sooner rather than later.

Follow Connon on Twitter at @SamConnon
Follow All Bruins on Twitter at @SI_AllBruins
Like All Bruins on Facebook at @SI.AllBruins
Subscribe to All Bruins on YouTube

Read more UCLA stories: UCLA Bruins on Sports Illustrated
Read more UCLA men's basketball stories: UCLA Men's Basketball on Sports Illustrated