FSU basketball head coach Luke Loucks has gotten off to a strong recruiting start early in his tenure. He beat some well-known schools for the commitment of four-star big man Marcis Ponder a few days ago.
He already has four-star point guard Jasen Lopez committed for the 2026 recruiting class. Four-star shooting guard Brandon Bass Jr. announced FSU among his three final schools on Friday.
NEWS: Four-star SG Brandon Bass Jr. has narrowed his focus to three schools, source tells @247Sports
— Dushawn London (@DushawnLondon1) August 1, 2025
Finalists:
- LSU
- Purdue
- Florida State
Story: https://t.co/bp1m4CRXaD pic.twitter.com/eaJ1AaRbUP
The son of former SEC Player of the Year Brandon Bass (LSU) named FSU, LSU, and Purdue as his three finalists. Bass took his official visit to Purdue in March and will visit FSU later this month when the Noles host the Alabama Crimson Tide in football.
Bass is the No. 81 player and No. 12 shooting guard nationally. He's the No. 16 player in the Sunshine State. The latter is a strong trend of Loucks targeting players who are playing their high school basketball in Florida.
Bass Jr. attends Windermere Prep in Windermere, Florida, which is basically in Orlando. Bass Jr. is listed at 6'4" and 185 pounds.
It'll be interesting to see if or when he takes his official visit to LSU as a legacy player. The Tigers were terrible last season, and like FSU, haven't been good for the past few seasons.
The good news is FSU does have that new car smell with Luke Loucks as the new coach, and LSU's coach is going into his fourth season.
Purdue has been a good team in the Big 10, making the Sweet 16 last season and losing in the National Title game two years ago.
FSU Lopez committed, but those South Florida players like to keep their options open. Purdue has one combo guard committed, and Purdue has one small forward committed in their 2026 class.
Loucks has a lot of blue-chip guys visiting that weekend, and it'll be interesting to see how many FSU has a legitimate shot to land.