2024 Top 40 4* PF Tyler Betsey commits to Cincinnati
By: Ryan Roberts
On Friday afternoon, Wes Miller and his staff received massive news when 2024 St. Thomas More (CT) forward Tyler Betsey announced he was committed to the Bearcats.
Betsey is listed as the 40th ranked prospect nationally and the number 9 power forward. He becomes the third highest rated recruit in the 247sports era behind Lance Stephenson and Jermaine Lawrence.
Betsey took official visits to Indiana, Creighton, and UConn in June and was on Alabama's campus September 9th for an official visit. Betsey officially visited Cincinnati the weekend of September 23rd for the Oklahoma game with former Bearcat Cane Broome, who is also his head coach at St. Thomas More.
Cincinnati Associate Head Coach Chad Dollar visited Betsey at his school on September 28th, the same day that Betsey released his commitment date.
247sports National Analyst Adam Finkelstein had the following to say about Betsey back in July when evaluating his game:
Tyler Betsey has a rare combination of positional size, fluidity, and shooting that makes him a very high-upside prospect. His shooting is his most glaring attribute with soft touch and natural rhythm to his release. He shows flashes of being able to put the ball on the floor or make plays in transition, but has yet to make that a consistent part of his arsenal yet. Similarly, he has untapped potential on the defensive end, where he has moments where he can get low and wide in his stance to slide his feet. As Betsey continues to mature in the game, he would benefit from showing more sense of urgency at times. Overall though, he's a naturally talented prospect who has made notable strides in recent years and should still just be scratching the surface of his potential.
With the commitment, Cincinnati now has the 15th ranked recruiting class in the country. Betsey joins 4* Cincinnati Winton Woods power forward Tyler McKinley in Cincinnati's 2024 class.
Recruiting Going Forward:
Wes Miller and his staff were in on the #1 overall player last year in Isaiah Collier and have been involved in other high level recruitments such as Flory Bidunga and Labaron Philon.
The commitment of Betsey signifies that this staff can recruit at a high level and win battles against other blue blood programs. Betsey's offer list consisted of Duke, Kansas, Indiana, Auburn, LSU, Michigan State, and defending national champion, UConn.
When Tyler arrives on campus next season, the Bearcats' roster will include 4 of the 9 highest rated committed players during the 247sports era. Jizzle James was the 5th highest rated commit, while Rayvon Griffth was the 9th highest rated commit. Tyler McKinley slots in as the 6th highest rated commit. This is the first time in 15 years that Cincinnati has landed top 100 players in back to back classes.
With the type of talent that Miller and his staff have assembled between the 2023 and 2024 recruiting classes, it puts them in good position to potentially land other 4 star targets Jase Richardson (#35 nationally) and Travis Perry (#70 nationally).
Stay tuned to The Riverfront and At Large Bid Bearcats as we continue to track the Bearcats' football and basketball program success.