Two Maryland men's basketball 2027 targets commit elsewhere

Ahmed Ghafir
5 hours ago
2 min read

Head coach Buzz Williams can officially cross off two more 2027 targets after a pair of four-stars who had Maryland in the mix committed elsewhere.

Wellington Sports Academy (NC) four-star forward Markus Kerr was the latest to come off the board despite including Maryland in his top five with a potential fall trip on the table amid a growing visit schedule. Yet that won't materialize as hoped after the top-70 prospect pulled the trigger on a decision during his first official visit to Xavier. The 6-foot-7 forward, who also has the same agent as current Maryland guard Bishop Boswell, added an offer last month as assistant Steve Roccaforte spearheaded efforts before pulling the trigger on his first visit.

Yet maybe the more pressing need this cycle is in the backcourt, but local point guard J'Lon Lyons was first to come off the board after announcing his commitment to Butler this past week. Lyons was expected to officially visit Maryland next month among a slew of official visits with the hometown team in the top group alongside Georgetown, Syracuse, Tennessee, VCU, Virginia and Butler, whose ability to bring in the top-60 prospect first proved to matter. Though Lyons marks Butler's first commitment of the cycle, Maryland is now left searching for momentum on the trail as they focus attention elsewhere in the 2027 class.

Top-50 prospect Payton Jones is among the targets with the Texas point guard set to arrive this upcoming weekend for an official visit after moving his fall schedule around and Roccaforte also leading efforts. “The coaches, they show how they take care of the guys, that’s what I’m looking forward to seeing. And just how they are, how they get along, and they’ve always treated us like family,” Jones previously told IBG.

Jones is one of two guards with an official visit set for the fall with three-star Damon Miles, another point guard out of Texas, set to arrive for his first visit to College Park the first weekend of October.

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