St. Rose (NJ) three-star forward Matt Hodge is enjoying the last bit of summer before his senior year kicks off at the end of the month. The 6-foot-8, 200-pound forward will also begin hitting the road with six official visits scheduled.
Seton Hall will be the first school to host him, though that’ll be an unofficial visit next week. Hodge will then head to Xavier for an official visit beginning August 27th then head to Penn State on August 31st. Once school starts, Hodge will hit the road for four more visits starting with Marquette on September 7th. Hodge then heads to Maryland on September 14th before wrapping up his fifth visit to Virginia beginning on September 22nd.
For now, Hodge is content with his scheduled visits after trimming down to a top ten with Alabama, Pitt and Old Dominion also in the mix.
Final 10! #strose #psacardinals pic.twitter.com/bCD6mFpS8g
— Matthew Hodge (@Matthew03333530) August 10, 2023
“I want to see how life is there because obviously I’ll be living there. Coming over from Belgium, I got used to it quick and loving it over here in New Jersey so I want to have that same feeling where this place could be the same,” Hodge told IBG. “And then also the bond with the coaches, the players, the school, the teachers.”
Hodge also took a visit to Villanova last month as the Wildcats were among the schools he felt were “really important for me” to visit.
“I’ve been there before on an unofficial, but it was really great. They did a really good job of showing me everything and giving me a feel of what Villanova can feel like.”
Maryland’s pursuit starts with assistant Mike Jones, who was once roommates with Hodge’s dad at Old Dominion. “He’s someone I know I can trust, and he has my back no matter what,” Hodge added. Jones has been able to build on that relationship effortlessly while head coach Kevin Willard has made it clear Hodge is a priority target in the 2024 class.
“We had a Zoom call a couple of weeks ago and he explained everything about his vision for me. It was awesome to get the chance to see that. And the whole coaching staff was on there so the feeling that they really wanted me was there and I got to get that feeling, which is important to me. Nothing bad I can say.”
Hodge will look to dive further into the on-court fit as he watches practice during his eventual official visit, but he already has a close idea of how he fits within the program. “They’ve touched on a little bit of everything, school and living-wise. And then they talked about the basketball side, which is the most important thing. They really showed me what Maryland is about and I’m still going on a visit so I can’t wait to see what it really looks like in person.”
After his official visit to Virginia Tech, Hodge will bunker down and decide if any further visits will come to fruition.
“It’s possible. I might see more, or it depends on what I’m feeling in the moment, if I’ve made my decision or not. Then I can feel like around October I’ll be ready to make my decision to see where I’ll go to school.”
Could Hodge reverse course and make a decision on any of his official visits?
“I can never say never but I don’t think so because this is a huge step, so I really want to be sure.”
Hodge posted 8.2 points and 2.5 rebounds with the PSA Cardinals at Peach Jam and helped lead St. Rose to the New Jersey Non-Public B state championship game.
Hodge is rated a three-star prospect and an 89 overall by On3, sitting as the 114th-best prospect in the country and fourth-best in New Jersey.
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