Cal Basketball: Four-Star 2025 Recruit Jovani Ruff Picks Bears

Cal basketball coach Mark Madsen made his biggest high school recruiting splash when 2025 four-star guard Jovani Ruff announced he will join the Bears.

Ruff revealed his choice Tuesday on YouTube, picking the Bears over Kansas, Oregon and USC.

A rising senior at Long Beach Poly High, Ruff is rated the No. 41 overall prospect in the Class of ’25, according to On3’s, based on a weighted average of the rankings of four major recruiting sites. 

The 6-foot-5, 180-pound guard recently told Rivals that Madsen and his staff impressed him during the recruiting process. Ruff visited Cal last September but reportedly hasn’t made an official visit to any of his other three finalists.

“Mark Madsen knows what he’s talking about. His staff, they’re young, they’re energetic but they also have great basketball knowledge,” Ruff said. “They have a great squad coming in this year so they’re going to do even better, hopefully make the (NCAA) tournament.

“It’s how they develop players, how they’re going to use me. I asked every coach what’s my role going to be as a freshman when I get there. Am I going to have a fair chance to compete for time as a freshman?:

Ruff also received offers from Arizona State, LSU, Texas A&M, Nebraska, UCLA, Utah and Washington.

Ruff scored 27 points including the game-winning 3-pointer in Poly’s 57-54 win over Corona del Mar in the CIF Southern Section Division 2A semifinals. Poly finished 24-8 after losing 53-49 to Marina in the title game.

A Ruff interview, when he says he "knew they couldn't guard me."