Mass. Gatorade Player of the Year hits the brakes on Providence basketball commitment

The Providence College men's basketball team won’t be receiving a commitment from Jaylen Harrell next week.

And after Thursday, the Friars are no longer guaranteed to be among his list of finalists.

Harrell announced on social media that he’s postponing his decision date and reopening his recruitment. He’s a 2025 shooting guard and the Gatorade Player of the Year in Massachusetts who included Providence on an initial list of six released in late February.

“My college decision has been much harder than anticipated,” Harrell wrote. “Due to this, I will be postponing my commitment to a later date. Whatever decision I make, I want to make sure it’s the right choice for me and my family.”

More: Providence basketball coach Kim English has message for teams trying to lure his players away

Harrell had taken an official visit with Xavier earlier in the week. He’s also taken official visits with the Friars and Rutgers. The Musketeers, Providence, the Scarlet Knights, Alabama, Kansas and Virginia Tech were among his original last six but that’s now subject to change.

Harrell was at Providence twice in March, watching defeats against Villanova and Connecticut at Amica Mutual Pavilion. His second trip, for the 74-60 loss against the Huskies, occurred during his official visit to campus. Harrell was coming off a strong spring with CATS Academy, a prep power in the Boston area.

Harrell has continued to perform into this current grassroots season with Nike circuit entry Expressions Elite. He averaged 17.6 points per game during the Memphis session and was even better in Atlanta, piling up 19 points per game. Harrell was named a standout by ESPN during the third Nike session in Indianapolis and could see his stock rise all the way to the signature Peach Jam in July.

Harrell is bound to have a host of fresh suitors pursuing him in light of this development. He’s a strong 6-feet-5 and already cut the likes of Wake Forest, Washington, Georgetown and St. John’s from his reported offers. Providence could wind up competing with a different cast of bluebloods if it elects to continue pursuing Harrell in the coming weeks.

More: Two more top prospects might commit to Providence basketball this month. Who are they?

The Friars currently count two commitments in their 2025 class. Athletic big man Oswin Erhunmwunse pledged last year and still holds the option of joining the program ahead of the 2024-25 season. He would almost certainly have an immediate frontcourt role alongside Saint Joseph’s transfer Christ Essandoko and junior college big man Anton Bonke, who enrolled ahead of second semester and practiced with Providence for the remainder of the year.

The Friars made another major splash with Florida wing Jamier Jones, a consensus top-35 prospect. He selected Providence ahead of Ohio State, Houston, LSU, South Carolina and Kansas this month. Jones joined Erhunmwunse and 2023 guard Garwey Dual as the third consensus top-50 prospect secured by Kim English since he took over on the sideline in late March 2023.

Nigel James, Mikel Brown Jr. and Lino Mark were among the guards the Friars hosted behind their bench during a 21-14 season and a trip to the NIT in English’s debut. Providence also welcomed frontcourt prospects Tee Bartlett, Bryson Tiller and Efeosa Oliogu to games in 2023-24. The Friars will need some immediate backcourt and wing help after next year with Wesley Cardet Jr., Jabri Abdur-Rahim, Bensley Joseph and Bryce Hopkins all scheduled to depart.

bkoch@providencejournal.com

On X: @BillKoch25

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Mass. hoops recruit Jaylen Harrell pauses commitment to Providence