Momentum Brewing? WVU is Pushing Hard to Land No. 3 Player in 2027 Class

As most year ones go in college basketball, it was a season full of ups and downs for Ross Hodge at West Virginia. Missing out on the NCAA Tournament was a bummer for him and his squad, but in the last 12 months, he's made a lot of progress identifying and landing pieces to build with into the future.

Amir Jenkins reclassified and joined WVU a year early, which prevented the possibility of him landing big-time offers as a senior and going elsewhere. He still has a long way to go, but you can see the potential of what he can become and is already a high-level defender.

DJ Thomas is the other key piece on the current roster, having a handful of quality outings against Big 12 competition, including five games where he finished in double figures.

One more big piece of the future coming?

Paul Osaruyi — Sam Lance/The Field of 68

In addition to Jenkins and Thomas, the Mountaineers have three promising incoming freshmen in Miles Sadler, Kingston Whitty, and Aliou Dioum. Sadler, of course, is the crown jewel of the class, sitting inside the top 30 national rankings and is the highest-rated recruit to ever sign with the program.

But what if I told you there's a chance he may not hold that title for long?

Don't worry. He's signed and isn't going anywhere. Instead, West Virginia is in heavy pursuit of class of 2027 big man Paul Osaruyi (6'10", 220 lbs), who would be the No. 1 recruit of all-time in program history should he commit. The Mountaineers have been pushing hard for him for quite some time and have gained some momentum in recent months.

How in the world is WVU in the mix for the No. 3 player in the 2027 class, you may ask?

Strong connections, that's how. WVU assistant Yusuf Ali, a fellow Canadian, has deep ties to some of the top recruits from Canada, including Osaruyi, with whom he's had a relationship for a couple of years now.

Also, Osaruyi is currently teammates with Sadler and Dioum at Bella Vista Prep, which is currently the top-ranked team in all of high school basketball. That familiarity and those relationships give West Virginia a legitimate shot at landing the future NBA talent and potential first-round draft pick. WVU will, of course, have to battle other major programs that are more established, such as Arkansas, Duke, Houston, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, and several others.

If the Mountaineers are able to land Osaruyi, it will completely change the expectations for the program the moment he arrives. Ross Hodge is well on his way to getting this program back on track.