Jeff Capel won a big recruiting battle today as he secured a commitment from William Jeffress, a 6'7" forward from McDowell High School in Erie. Jeffress has long been a priority for Capel, and the Panthers have also been considered the favorite for quite some time as well. On Tuesday morning, the speculation turned into reality for both sides.
Jeffress had listed Pitt among his top-10 schools earlier this year and before his commitment today. He opted to stay close to home and chose Pitt over other finalists Baylor, Virginia, Villanova, Northwestern, Penn State, Notre Dame, Memphis, Stanford and Vanderbilt.
Jeffress is graded as a four-star recruit and is rated as the 75th best prospect in the country according to Rivals.com. He was originally a member of the class of 2021, but opted to reclassify during his junior season at McDowell.
His final high school season ended abruptly amid the COVID-19 pandemic, as the PIAA was forced to cancel the remainder of the state tournament. Jeffress had led his team to a state quarterfinal round in Class-6A and they were set to take on Butler High School that featured Purdue recruit Ethan Morton prior to the cancellation, in what would have been a rare meeting of top-100 talents in Western Pennsylvania.
COVID-19 also changed his recruitment on top of his final season as well. The pandemic forced the NCAA to shut down recruiting visits, and Jeffress was unable to take any final visits before deciding. He had been to Pitt multiple times through the years and has a strong bond with Capel, which likely worked in Pitt's favor down the stretch of this recruitment.
Jeffress is a versatile forward that can play and defend multiple spots. Rivals.com national basketball analyst Corey Evans shed some light on just exactly what the Panthers are getting with Jeffress.
"Will is just a hard playing, team-first centric type of forward that can play a variety of spots in the frontcourt," Evans told Panther-Lair.com. "He’s improved with his jumper and overall skillset, but will be primarily relied upon for his toughness, intangibles and willingness to guard different spots in the half court."
The commitment of Jeffress caps off a strong 2020 recruiting class for the Pitt program. Jeff Capel had already signed Rivals Top 150 forwards John Hugley and Noah Collier. The Panthers also have landed New York City players Max Amadasun and Femi Odukale. The five man class will also be bolstered by Ithiel Horton, a transfer from Delaware thats sat out last season due to NCAA rules.
The six newcomers coupled with the return of starters Justin Champagnie, Xavier Johnson, and Au'Diese Toney will give Capel his most talented team since taking over the job at Pitt. Jeffress also becomes the second highest recruit Capel has landed to date, as Pitt is sitting on the commitment of Jalen Hood-Schifino in the class of 2022.
Jeffress is now the first Western Pennsylvania four-star recruit to choose Pitt since Michael Young committed back in the class of 2013.
