4-Star Small Forward Commits to Nebrasketball

The 6-foot-5, 185-pound prospect plays for Cretin-Derham Hall High School in Saint Paul, Minnesota. According to the 247Sports Composite, Schlagel ranks as the No. 34 small forward in the nation, coming in at No. 128 overall and No. 3 in Minnesota.

According to MaxPreps, Schlagel averaged 19.8 points and 7.2 rebounds per game last season.

Husker Recruiting

Schlagel is the first commit for the 2027 class for Nebraska. With so few commits out of that class nationally, the Huskers are up to No. 5 in the national rankings, behind Kansas, Missouri, Indiana, and Iowa State.

Nebraska's 2026 class also features just a single commitment. Colin Rice, a four-star small forward out of Iowa, committed to the Huskers in July. He has the NU class with a rank of 46.

Hoiberg has shifted away from large high school classes in recruiting. The 2025 class, which is current college freshman, featured a pair of additions in four-star center Leo Curtis and four-star small forward Quentin Rhymes.

Prior to the 2025 group, Hoiberg added two in 2024, two in 2023, three* in 2022, and four* in 2021. Of those 11 prep additions, one left for the NBA after his freshman season, two** are still on the team, and the rest transferred away.

*These don't count the junior college additions of Keisei Tominaga or Blaise Keita.

**Jamarques Lawrence transferred to Maine for a year and then transferred back to Nebraska for this season.

As a matter of fact, Sam Hoiberg, now in his senior season, will be the first Husker to play their entire career at Nebraska since Thorir Thorbjarnarson finished in 2021. Those are the only two Huskers in the Hoiberg era to start and finish their careers in Lincoln, without taking a detour in the middle.

That's why, or partially contributing to the lack of four-year guys, Hoiberg has been so heavy on the transfer portal. Including those junior college additions, from the 2021 class on, Hoiberg has brought in 24 transfers.

Nebrasketball Momentum

Schlagel's commitment comes just two days after an exhibition win for Nebraska over preseason No. 8 BYU.

The Huskers held off a pair of shots in the final 10 seconds to beat the Cougars 90-89. Neither team had their top scorers in for the final couple of minutes, despite the electric play in the exhibition.

Rienk Mast scored a game-high 31 points, adding five rebounds and three assists. He made his first seven attempts from beyond the arc. Connor Essegian pitched in five triples on his way to a 20-point outing.

BYU was led by stud freshman AJ Dybantsa. He finished with 30 points, seven rebounds, three assists, three steals, and a blocked shot.

Nebraska has another exhibition upcoming with Midland on Sunday. The season opener is against West Georgia on Nov. 3.