Four-star Acaden Lewis, who recently visited Syracuse basketball, discloses top four

Syracuse basketball is out of the running for fast-rising 2025 DMV guard Acaden Lewis, which bums me out.

The 6-foot-3 Lewis, a four-star guard and a top-30 national prospect in the high school senior class, named his final four contenders on Saturday via his X page. Those finalists are all blue-blood programs: two-time defending national champion UConn, Kentucky and fellow Atlantic Coast Conference schools Duke and North Carolina.

Candidly, I always figured it would prove a steep challenge for the Orange staff to prevail for Lewis, who saw his recruitment blow up this spring and summer after shining on the AAU circuit and at other showcase events.

The ‘Cuse was in Lewis’ top eight, but after trimming his list to four, he has eliminated Syracuse basketball, Tennessee, Michigan and Auburn. As always, I’m wishing Acaden all the best moving forward in his recruitment!

Lewis is a standout senior at the Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D.C. During the most recent grassroots basketball season, he earned high praise from national analysts and scouts as he starred for the 17U squad of the Oxon Hill, Md.-based Team Durant in Nike’s EYBL league.

Orange coaches offered a scholarship to Lewis in late April of this year, and the ‘Cuse staff prioritized him ever since that time. Syracuse basketball was in attendance for Lewis during various NCAA live periods in recent months, and he took an unofficial visit to the Hill on August 1.

I had hoped that Lewis would also go on an official visit to the Orange. Several analysts had stated of late that they figured he would officially visit the ‘Cuse, along with other suitors, but now a second trip to Central New York obviously won’t be happening.

Lewis has spoken highly of the Syracuse basketball coaching staff on numerous occasions, and Orange coaches do have long-standing, deep ties to the DMV. In the end, though, his four finalists are on a different kind of recruiting level than the ‘Cuse, although head coach Adrian Autry and his top-flight staff are trending in an extremely positive direction with their recruiting efforts.

With Lewis no longer an option, attention will turn to other 2025 four-star guards for Syracuse basketball coaches. Kiyan Anthony, a shooting guard from New York City, has the Orange in his top six and recently conducted an in-home visit with the ‘Cuse staff. He took an official visit the Hill in late October of last year.

Tyler Jackson, a point guard from Baltimore, officially visited Syracuse basketball in late January of this year. Then there’s Keyshuan Tillery, a point guard who hails from Albany, N.Y., and unofficially visited the program in late August of last year when he played in the Orange’s annual Elite Camp.

Sources have told me that Tillery is considering a second visit to the ‘Cuse. With Lewis off the board for Syracuse basketball, I’m quite curious to see whether Tillery makes another trip to the Orange.