The offseason may be slow as far as the upcoming season is concerned, but recruiting for future seasons is heating up. In the past two days, Villanova has offered both 2027 prospect Chase Lumpkin and 2028 prospect Tai Bell.
Lumpkin is a 6’4” guard from Powder Springs, GA who is currently ranked as the 33rd overall player on 247Sports, while Bell is a 6’3” guard from Miami, FL who is currently the 28th ranked player in his class. These come on the heels of offers to both Rowan Phillips and Mason Shephard, both of whom were offered earlier this week.
Phillips is a 6’6” guard from Norristown, PA who is ranked 21st in the 2028 class per 247Sports. Phillips also just transferred to Archbishop Wood, aka Collin Gillespie High. Meanwhile, Shephard is an unranked 5’11” guard in the 2027 class from Rockwall, TX.
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It’s become evident that Kevin Willard will either go for instant-impact freshmen or go the route of developmental ones. In today’s climate, the players that are caught in between are generally preferring to go to a place where they can play immediately. Adam Oumiddoch would be an example of the former, while Carter Fisk would be an example of the latter.
Transfers and “staying old” are the name of the game these days, but Willard and his staff will continue to try to mix in the high schoolers as well.
