Villanova Misses Out On Top 60 Forward, Still No 2026 Commits

Villanova Men’s Basketball made the final cut for four-star forward recruit Alex Egbuono, the No. 51 player on the ESPN Top 100, named as one of his top five schools after he made a campus visit in mid-October. Instead, he’ll play against the Wildcats as a member of the Marquette Golden Eagles, choosing Villanova’s Big East foe over a top five that also included Auburn, Boston College and Stanford.

Egbuono, who stands 6-foot-6, announced his decision in a live ceremony on 247Sports’ YouTube channel.

Prior to announcing his top five, 247Sports listed Egbuono’s interest in Marquette and Boston College as warm, and that projection ended up ringing true. 247Sports describes Egbuono as a physical athlete capable of using his height, but says that he’ll need to polish his shot and other finesse elements like footwork.

Listed at 220 pounds, Egbuono already possesses a solid frame. Even though he’s on the smaller side for a forward (although some sources list him as tall as 6-foot-8), that added dose of physicality will help him compete at the Division I level.

The Wildcats have made the final cut for a series of top recruits in recent weeks, including Chase Foster and Luca Foster, but haven’t managed to seal the deal yet. Villanova head coach Kevin Willard prioritized picking up younger players in the transfer portal this offseason, making recruiting less of a focus for the moment, but they still have four players set to graduate at the end of the year.