Brooks Holton / USA TODAY NETWORK

Eight Elite College Basketball Recruits Make Major NIL Announcement

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Kevin Borba | Last updated May 28, 2025 6:56 PM ET

In this modern era of college athletics, players are possibly as valuable as they have ever been.

It isn't uncommon for a player, whether it be basketball or football, to be offered a massive payday before playing a single minute of action at their respective college. On Wednesday, Adidas took to social media to announce its 2025 high school NIL class, featuring recruits from both the 2026 and 2027 recruiting classes.

The class consists of eight of the top recruits in the country, headlined by 2026 five-star shooting guard Caleb Holt, who ranks as the No. 5 player in the country according to On3's Industry Rankings on the men's side, and Kate Harping, who ranks as the No. 2 player in the class of 2026.

Proud to announce our 2025 High School NIL Class.

The best young hoopers in the game, hands down. pic.twitter.com/K3uheUdIXz
— adidas Basketball (@adidasHoops) May 28, 2025

Joining Holt on the men's side of the class are 2026 five-star forward Anthony Thompson, 2027 five-star Bruce Branch III and 2026 four-stars Adam Oumiddoch and Tay Kinney.

Harping is also joined by 2026 five-star Oliviyah Edwards, and Kaleena Smith who 247Sports ranks as the No. 1 player in the class of 2027.

As it stands right now, none of the players are committed, and while some may think they have to sign with an Adidas school, that isn't always the case, as seen with Duke star Cooper Flagg this past season, who was signed with New Balance but played at a Nike school.

According to On3, Holt was recently visited by both Kentucky and Ole Miss. As for the rest of the recruits, they all have some major programs in their own right coming after them.

On3's recruiting predicting machine favors Ohio State for Thompson, Arizona State for Branch, Oregon for Oumiddoch and Kentucky for Kinney. Georgia Tech is viewed as the leader for Harping, with Washington reportedly leading for Edwards. As for Smith, her recruitment doesn't appear to have a leader, but she holds offers from schools such as UConn, USC, South Carolina and LSU, according to her Instagram.

While their future programs are yet to be determined, all eight of these athletes will have some truly unique opportunities with Adidas.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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