Will Wade's latest marquee recruiting win sets LSU up as eventual college basketball power

LSU Tigers men's basketball head coach Will Wade appears to be building something special.

On Saturday, Wade and LSU were saved from a frightful Halloween when Xavier Young, a five-star center in the class of 2028, committed to the Tigers and reclassified for 2027, adding to a stacked recruiting class.

"I put a lot of trust in coach Wade," said Young when making his announcement, per ESPN's Jeff Borzello and Paul Biancardi, adding that the two-time Southland Coach of the Year "sat down with me, went through my game and told me I have a chance to be an NBA player...He has a two-year plan to help me get to the league."

Under 18 until March 2028, Borzello and Biancardi note that Young must spend two seasons in college before entering the NBA Draft, with league rules stipulating players must turn 19 the year of that draft to be eligible, making him a potential pro prospect in 2029 at the earliest.

Xavier Young commitment adds to stacked LSU 2027 men's basketball recruiting class

Young (6-foot-9, 210 pounds) joins what is the No. 1 recruiting class of the 2027 cycle following his commitment. He follows five-star combo guard King Gibson, who committed in early October, and point guard Reese Alston, who revealed his decision on Thursday.

When selecting LSU over programs including Tennessee, defending-champion Michigan and TCU, Young shared that he was "excited and can't wait to play with [them], two of the best guards in the country." The trio will partner with four-star power forward and ESPN's No. 25 overall recruit Ahmad Hudson to form an intriguing core with enormous upside. And considering several players on the 2026-27 team have remaining eligibility for next season, a program that had difficulty fleshing out its roster for the upcoming campaign should have no such depth issues next fall.