WBB Recruiting Intel: LSU back to work after European trip
LSU has returned from its 10-day trip to Europe where it got to see multiple countries and several sights alongside teammates and coaches. Now, it’s back to work with the school year approaching and the recruiting dead period coming to an end. The Tigers’ staff continues to press for the top players in the 2025 class and here, we’ll be covering everything I’ve heard from the past few weeks, but first we’ll give a quick team update.
Team updates
*** LSU returned from the European trip this week. The team was able to spend a ton of time together and further build their relationships. Everyone had a great time together.
*** School starts next Monday (Aug. 26th) which will also be the first official team meeting of the year. Until then, the players have time to either go home or stay on campus until classes start. Aneesah Morrow, Shayeanne Day-Wilson, and Flau’Jae Johnson are among the group to be out of town until school starts. The rest are on campus relaxing and preparing for the year.
*** Aalyah Del Rosario continues to recover from the ankle procedure she had earlier this summer. She’s still wearing a boot and wore it throughout their trip to Europe, but it’s more for precautionary reasons right now. The expectation is she’s out the boot in the coming weeks and a full go in mid-September.
2025 Recruiting updates
*** With official visits set, now, it’s just about waiting during this brief dead period for the LSU staff. To recap: Divine Bourrage and Ayla McDowell visit on Sept. 20-22. Grace Knox and ZaKiyah Johnson visit Sept. 6-8. Bella Hines is committed but takes another unofficial Nov. 9. Aaliyah Chavez’ date is set for the fall, but not released yet.
*** Grace Knox is currently a massive priority for LSU leaving the summer. She’s down to four schools: Tennessee, Texas, LSU, and USC. After speaking with sources this feels like a battle between LSU and USC for the top-15 recruit. LSU checks off major boxes for Knox with the appeal of playing at an elite program and early playing time as someone who can immediately fill the void left by Aneesah Morrow next year. Knox is from California, which works against the Tigers, but Knox has shown she’s willing to leave the west coast, so we’ll see how her visit goes in a few weeks.
*** Divine Bourrage is still a top target for the Tigers. The No. 7 player in the country for 2025, the 5-foot-9 guard has had interest from Baylor, Arizona, Illinois, and others, but as I’ve stated before, LSU is in the lead here and I’m not sure who’s pushing the Tigers. Her visit could be the icing on the cake and LSU hopes it will further seal the deal.
*** Ayla McDowell is an interesting case. I’ve written before that LSU has been recruiting her but I wouldn’t say she’s top priority at the moment. I left her out of my class prediction and still I’m not sure how it will play out after talking with sources. TCU has been recruiting McDowell hard, but LSU could still get her commitment down the stretch if Kim Mulkey and her staff push for her. We’ll see how this plays out, but I’m not ruling LSU out knowing that things could change quickly.
*** It is expected ZaKiyah Johnson will take all of her visits and take her time in her recruitment and with LSU having a fairly early visit in a couple of weeks, there’s going to be a lot of work left to do still. LSU is in a good spot right now, just something to monitor later in the fall.
*** I’ll have more on Aaliyah Chavez in the coming days, but LSU remains in a good spot for the top player in the country as the competition heats up.
*** One new name that could be visiting this fall is Grace Mbugua, a former Liberty commit who decommitted and since has gotten a lot of attention, including LSU and Kentucky. She released her top eight which also includes Duke, West Virginia, Florida, Baylor, NC State, and Louisville. She’s a new name to watch with Kaylin Rice and Bob Starkey taking the lead in her recruitment. It’s unclear how much LSU is pushing, and I wouldn’t put her in the class right now, but it’s a new name to watch.
*** Schools are beginning to set up in-home visits with these 2025 targets for the coming months when they are allowed to travel to see them. We’ll see who the Tigers travel to see. We know Bourrage and Knox remain atop that list early on.
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