No. 8 recruit Babatunde Oladotun stays home, picks Maryland

High-10 senior Babatunde Oladotun dedicated to Maryland on Wednesday, giving coach Buzz Williams his first five-star recruit in almost a decade.

Oladotun picked the Terrapins over native rival Georgetown and Arkansas throughout a recruitment that appeared to alter leaders a number of occasions over the previous couple of weeks. He turns into Maryland’s first five-star recruit since Derik Queen within the 2024 class and Williams’ first since Nickeil Alexander-Walker dedicated to Virginia Tech when Williams was in Blacksburg again within the 2017 class.

“My relationship with Buzz Williams and the employees was nice,” Oladotun mentioned. “Coach Buzz is a realist. Generally, he’s going to be uncooked. He’s going to push you exhausting, break you down and construct you up. He has developed gamers like Jimmy Butler and Jae Crowder.”

Oladotun, who attends James Hubert Blake Excessive College in Silver Spring, Maryland, has two sisters who at present attend Maryland, and his coach is former Maryland star and NBA veteran Walt Williams.

“Staying house simply hits totally different,” Oladotun mentioned. “The varsity is barely 20 minutes away. I’m a giant household man. I’m a neighborhood participant and have an opportunity to signify my house faculty. When the brand new employees obtained the job, they reached out immediately. Once I reclassed, they recruited me even more durable.”

A 6-foot-10 ahead, Oladotun was the No. 1 recruit within the 2027 class earlier than reclassifying into the 2026 class in August. He’s now No. 8 general within the SC Subsequent 100 and ranks because the No. 3 energy ahead within the nation.

Oladotun averaged 13.2 factors and 5.8 rebounds on the Nike EBYL circuit final spring and summer time, suiting up for 3 video games on the 16U circuit earlier than transferring as much as the 17U Staff Durant workforce. He started to play extra constantly because the season progressed, scoring 28 factors in opposition to Staff Herro and 20 factors in opposition to Staff Takeover in July.

At 16 years outdated, Oladotun has spectacular shotmaking expertise and defensive upside. His archetype is that of a rim runner, however his superior metrics recommend he’s a switchable defender and a flexible wing with excessive pure scoring prowess. He contributes offensively as a shooter and a scorer in addition to a finisher with size and contact across the rim.

Maryland entered the early signing interval with the No. 19 recruiting class within the nation, with SC Subsequent 100 guard Kaden Home (No. 47) and four-star forwards Austin Brown and Adama Tambedou already within the fold. Home is a big-time scorer who ought to type a dynamic freshman tandem with Oladotun in Faculty Park subsequent season.