Kansas basketball is in the hunt for Matthew Cleveland, a talented guard and top 30 recruit in the class of 2021.
Matthew Cleveland, a six-foot-six 190 pound shooting guard from Alpharetta, Georgia has cut his list down to just sixteen schools. According to 247 Sports, Cleveland ranks as a four-star recruit in their composite ratings and the No. 5 overall shooting guard in the class of 2021.
Cleveland has received offers from nearly thirty schools including high majors such as Kansas basketball, Auburn, Maryland, Florida, Georgia Tech, and many others.
Kentucky
Kentucky has yet to offer the five-star guard. While Kentucky didn’t make the final cut list for Cleveland, they could jump in later in his recruitment if they decide to offer, due to how prestigious of a program they are. There have been many times recently when teams jump in at the last second once they offer and steal a prospect. Duke did this twice to Kansas and other schools last year with five-star Matthew Hurt and four-star Cassius Stanley.
Georgia Tech
Georgia Tech seems to be to “way too early” favorite. Both of Cleveland’s parents attended Georgia Tech, and Cleveland also values education. Georgia Tech also was his first offer, and he’s visited Georgia Tech multiple times. Lastly, The Georgia Tech campus is thirty minutes away from his own school he’s enrolled in currently.
Auburn
Cleveland has visited Auburn once where they ended up beating Kentucky 75-66. After the game, Cleveland expressed that he loved the atmosphere that the auburn fans provided and he really likes head coach Bruce Pearl. Cleveland was asked about his top schools and had to say this:
"“I don’t have any at the moment, but Auburn is definitely a school I’m looking at hard. I’ll for sure be back. I love the atmosphere at Auburn. It’s a family atmosphere. Everyone is helping and pushing for the best.”"
Florida State
Cleveland has visited Flordia State twice and said the second visit was better than the first. Florida State is listed as “warm” for Matthew Cleveland on 247 Sports, which implies they are one of the leading schools in his recruitment.
Louisville
Last summer, Chris Mack offered Cleveland a scholarship. Louisville is also listed as “warm” for Matthew Cleveland on 247 Sports. Here’s what Cleveland told Evan Daniels about his visit to Louisville.
"“It was really good, I got to meet all of the coaches, and got to watch some of the shoot around, and it was just high intensity and really good.”"
You can expect Louisville to be a key school in Cleveland’s recruitment.
Kansas
So far, Kansas basketball doesn’t seem to be one of the leading schools in Cleveland’s recruitment. They offered the guard on February 6 of this year, therefore they are new to his recruitment. But, as great of a program Kansas is, it will be enough to keep them on Cleveland’s final lists leading up to his commitment.
So far, the Jayhawks’ recruiting class of 2021 remains empty; however, head coach Bill Self and his staff his sent out nearly 20 offers so far.
Early Prediction – Georgia Tech
The five-star guard has said that he won’t announce who he will be playing for until his senior year to see who will recruit him the hardest. It wouldn’t be surprising to see a couple of blue bloods to work their way into his recruitment later on.