Maryland basketball head coach Kevin Willard and the staff are still on the search for their first commitment of the 2024 season, but they’ll get a crack at at least one top frontcourt target when he makes his way to campus for an official visit this fall.
St. Rose (NJ) three-star power forward Matthew Hodge will officially visit Maryland the weekend of September 14, he confirmed with IBG. Hodge, a 6-foot-8, 200-pound target, has been on the radar dating back to his junior season when he visited for the Purdue game, giving him a chance to soak in the atmosphere of the top-five win before picking up the offer.
“In the beginning I had to do my research about the fans and atmosphere. But seeing it at the Purdue game was insane, watching them storm the floor,” Hodge told IBG. “That helped a lot.”
🇧🇪 2024 6-8 F Matthew Hodge has earned offers from Marquette and Villanova among others after a brilliant showing at Philly Live in the past two weekends
The swiss army knife forward hit 3s consistently and passed it very well while impacting both ends with motor and physicality pic.twitter.com/WkEGQGKmxv
— CBB Europe (@CBB_Europe) June 27, 2023
Mike Jones has resumed those recruiting efforts for Maryland since joining the program in early April given his close connection to Hodge, dating back to when Jones and Odell Hodge once roomed together during their playing days at Old Dominion.
Hodge will also officially visit Villanova beginning July 27, Penn State beginning August 31, Marquette beginning September 7 before heading to Maryland then Virginia on September 21. Visits to Alabama, Virginia Tech, Xavier, Temple, Seton Hall and Florida State are also in the mix, according to Adam Zagoria. “We’re going through everything school by school and we’re going to prioritize everything after the Virginia visit and see if it’s necessary” to take other visits,” his father added.
Maryland has steadily prioritized Hodge into the live period, where he’s become a primary target in the frontcourt in the 2024 cycle alongside prized five-star Derik Queen. Hodge is averaging 8.2 points and 3.4 rebounds while shooting over 50% from the field, including 38.3% from three, with PSA Cardinals into July.
Hodge is rated a three-star prospect and an 89 overall by On3, sitting as the 27th-best power forward in the country.
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