It may be a Penn State gameday, the highly anticipated debut of new Nittany Lions head coach Micah Shrewsberry and the opening day of the 2021-22 college basketball season, but it’s also (early) Signing Day 2021. And a few future Lions are officially signing letters of intent today.
The Lions’ 2022 recruiting class, ranked as the 21st class in the nation, according to 247Sports, is the highest-ranked class since the 2016 cycle that brought in Tony Carr and Lamar Stevens — the two highest-ranked recruits in program history.
The class doesn’t feature the Top-2 ranked recruits in program history, but it does feature two of the new Top-5 recruits in program history.
2022 Four-Star Center Kebba Njie
Njie, a 6-foot-8, 205-pound center from La Lumiere School in La Porte, Indiana, is the crown jewel of the recruiting class.
The Lions landed his commitment over offers from Butler and Kansas State, and interest from Cincinnati, Dayton, Ohio State and Xavier.
According to 247Sports, Njie is rated as the 103rd-ranked recruit (17th-ranked center and fourth-ranked recruit from Indiana). ESPN’s Top 100 has him ranked 79th recruit in the class.
Njie’s 0.9499 rating on 247Sports lands him as the Lions’ second-highest rated recruit ever behind only Carr.
Signed, sealed & delivered 📝
✔️ @kebba_njie23
📍 Centerville, Ohio
📈 ESPN Top 100 recruit#WeAre // #SigningDay2021 pic.twitter.com/XeHmUhTDye— Penn State Men’s Basketball (@PennStateMBB) November 10, 2021
2022 Four-Star Combo Guard Jameel Brown
Brown, a 6-foot-4, 190-pound combo guard from Haverford School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is one of the highest-ranked in-state recruits that the Lions could’ve kept home.
With offers from Minnesota, Purdue, Auburn, Marquette, Massachusetts, Penn, Richmond, Temple and Xavier, Brown picked the Lions over national contenders and regional options.
According to 247Sports, Brown is the 126th-ranked recruit in the class, checking in as the 20th-ranked combo guard and the fifth-ranked recruit from Pennsylvania. 247’s non-composite score rates him as the 90th-ranked recruit in the class (17th-ranked combo guard and second-ranked recruit from Pennsylvania).
Brown’s 0.9330 rating on 247Sports lands him as the fifth-highest ranked recruit in program history.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.The newest Nittany Lion 🦁
✔️ @JameelBrown1
📍 Philadelphia, Pa.
📈 4-star prospect & 2021 Peach Jam Champion#WeAre // #SigningDay2021 pic.twitter.com/WA7RRAKeIz— Penn State Men’s Basketball (@PennStateMBB) November 10, 2021
2022 Three-Star Center Demetrius Lilley
Lilley, a 6-foot-10, 230-pound center from Lower Merion High School in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, led Lower Merion to its first district title since Kobe Bryant attended the school in 1996.
Offers from Bryant, East Carolina, La Salle, Saint Joseph’s, Texas A&M and interest from Maryland could’ve drawn Lilley elsewhere, but he picked the Lions to remain in the state.
247Sports rated Lilley as the 285th-ranked recruit in the class, checking in as the 42nd-ranked center and the seventh-ranked recruit in Pennsylvania — effectively keeping two of PA’s top recruits in the state.
Officially official 📝
✔️ @denetriuslilley
📍 Philadelphia, Pa.
📈 First player at Lower Merion High School to average more than 20 points and 10 rebounds per game since Kobe Bryant#WeAre // #SigningDay2021 pic.twitter.com/b5PBDaAOwi— Penn State Men’s Basketball (@PennStateMBB) November 10, 2021
2022 Three-Star Point Guard Kanye Clary
Clary, a 5-foot-10, 180-pound point guard from Massanutten Military Academy in Woodstock, Virginia, is a recruit that Shrewsberry and company managed to snag from the clutches of a couple of Virginia schools.
With offers from Hampton, James Madison, Norfolk State, North Carolina A&T, Old Dominion, Radford and Texas A&M, Clary picked the Lions to join their historic class.
According to 247Sports, Clary is the 226th-ranked recruit in the class, checking in as the 35th-ranked point guard and the eighth-ranked recruit from Virginia.
Officially a Nittany Lion 🦁
✔️ @Kanyeclary
📍 Virginia Beach, Va.
📈 ESPN 4-star recruit#WeAre // #SigningDay2021 pic.twitter.com/uY1SH5RADx— Penn State Men’s Basketball (@PennStateMBB) November 10, 2021
2022 three-star small forward Evan Mahaffey is a Lions’ hard commit, but he has not yet signed his letter of intent with the university.
