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University of Kansas basketball recruiting

Four-star Class of 2021 shooting guard Matthew Cleveland has pegged 2 p.m. Tuesday as the date to announce his college choice.

The 6-foot-6, 190-pound guard from Pace Academy in Atlanta is ranked No. 25 in the 2021 class by Rivals.com. He narrowed his choices to a final five of Kansas, Florida State, Michigan, North Carolina State and Stanford earlier this month and announced his decision time on Twitter over the weekend.

In addition to making the announcement at 2 p.m., Cleveland said he plans to breakdown his decision with Jason Jordan, the new Director of Recruiting for @Sinow.

Although the summer visits and AAU scene have been nonexistent, Cleveland recently told @SportsStarsTV what he’s been doing to help make his decision.

“Zoom meetings, just listening to coaches (and) what they have to say, watching the way they play, style of play (to) see if I fit in,” Cleveland said shortly after narrowing his list to a final five.

All signs in the recruiting world are pointing to Florida State being the favorite for Cleveland’s services.

All four experts at 247 Sports have picked Florida State in their Crystal Ball rankings, and the Rivals.com crew’s FutureCast also sits at 100% for Florida State.

“Cleveland is a big time athlete and is someone who has proven that he can score from all three levels on the court while also flashing ability as a defender and someone who can rebound the basketball as well,” wrote 247 Sports analyst Brian Snow in previewing his announcement.

When I watch his film, I see a combination of Marcus Garrett and Travis Releford in his game.

We’ll know Tuesday if Cleveland is following in those footsteps or headed elsewhere.

Riley to announce Friday

Florida State and Kansas will be involved in another decision later this week, when three-star shooting guard Jordan Riley, of Brentwood, N.Y., makes his college choice.

According to Rivals.com’s Eric Bossi, the 6-3, 195-pound Riley recently narrowed his list to a final five of Kansas, Florida State, Connecticut, Georgetown and St. John’s.

Riley’s father told ZagsBlog.com that he would make his announcement at 9 a.m. Friday.

Ranked No. 137 overall in the updated 2021 class by Rivals, Riley averaged 23 points, 12 rebounds and four assists per game during his junior season.

Bossi calls him “one of the most athletic backcourt players in America,” and he wrote that Riley has the potential to be a big time contributor wherever he lands.

KU assistant Norm Roberts has been the lead recruiter for Riley, and ZagsBlog reported in May that KU coach Bill Self had a 40-minute talk with Riley’s father, Monty, who said Self told him he liked his son’s toughness.

Baylor lands Kendall Brown

Top 15, five-star prospect Kendall Brown orally committed to Baylor on Monday, giving the Bears another elite prospect in their 2021 recruiting class.

Many believed that KU was the frontrunner for the 6-7, 200-pound small forward from Sunrise Christian Academy. Four days ago, Bossi ranked KU as the No. 1 contender for Brown’s services and Baylor did not even make Bossi’s top five.

“I’ve been telling people for a while that I’m going to surprise them,” Brown told Rivals.com after his commitment.

Brown’s unexpected commitment — in terms of both time and school — gave Baylor three Top 50 commitments in the last week alone, moving Baylor into the No. 1 spot in Rivals.com’s current 2021 team rankings.

He joins forward Jeremy Sochan and guard Langston Love in Baylor’s 2021 class.