UConn men’s basketball signs five in its highly-rated Class of 2023

The one-week early signing period for men’s and women’s basketball student-athletes began on Wednesday. UConn men’s basketball had five verbal commitments throughout last fall and earlier this year, with all five officially becoming part of the program.

The class is ranked in the top five by most recruiting outlets and is headlined by Stephon Castle. The 6-foot-6 combo guard is the highest-ranked prospect that Dan Hurley has added since becoming UConn’s head coach. Castle committed in November 2021.

Hurley was quiet until the following June, when things got hot. Three-star wing Jayden Ross made his commitment on June 27. Ross brings an outside scoring touch and solid length but is still a fairly raw prospect. A few days later, Solo Ball announced he would be joining the Huskies. A top-100 player, the 6-foot-3 Ball plays at Brewster Academy, the prep school in New Hampshire that produced Jalen Adams.

The final pledges came five days apart, from Jaylin Stewart and Youssouf Signare, on Sept. 16 and 21, respectively. Stewart is a wing player with size and versatility, while Signare is a 7-footer that has a knack for defending the rim.

Hurley’s haul is full of versatile and athletic players, with balance throughout the lineup and with a pair of elite, top-50 players in Castle and Stewart, in addition to more developmental players in Ross and Signare that could pay dividends in a few years. UConn fans know better than to get too excited about a recruiting class (remember the class of 2016?) but this is an impressive group that should set the Huskies up very well for the future.