South Carolina men's basketball lands 2025 commitment from Eli Ellis
What a day it has been for South Carolina hoops.
Not long after five-star forward Joyce Edwards committed to Dawn Staley and the women’s basketball program, Lamont Paris got some good news as well when he landed four-star guard Eli Ellis.
Ellis, who plays at Moravian Prep in North Carolina, announced his commitment to South Carolina on Wednesday night. He picked the Gamecocks over College of Charleston, Mississippi State, VCU and Virginia Tech.
It’s a massive get for Paris, who has continued to do a fine job recruiting talent since being hired. Ellis now becomes the second player to join the Gamecocks’ 2025 recruiting class, along with three-star forward Hayden Assemian.
For the 2024 class, South Carolina brought in two players — Trent Noah and Okku Federiko.
The On3 Industry Ranking — a weighted average of all four major recruiting services — has Ellis as the No. 99-ranked prospect in the country for the 2025 class.
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Additionally, he checks in as the fourth-best prospect in North Carolina and 17th-best point guard in the country.
Ellis’ current On3 NIL Valuation sits at $248,000. He’s also earned quite the following on social media with over 750,000 followers on TikTok and 330,000 on Instagram.
Ellis stands at 6-foot-1, 190 pounds and could provide some size at the guard position in the future.
On3 National Basketball Recruiting Analyst Jamie Shaw recently provided some insight on Ellis and what he could bring to the table for South Carolina.
“This was my first viewing of Ellis during the high school season. He is someone I have watched since he was in sixth grade, and seen his continued path and development. In this one the shot was not falling, however that did not affect his ability to put his fingerprints on the game. This is somewhere his game has really developed over the years.
“Ellis is still a threat from deep, even if off that game, a defense has to stay tight with him because his range extends past 30 feet and he will pull it at any time. Ellis did a good job here attacking matchups. He would get into the teeth of the defense and distribute to teammates. He has good court vision and threw precise passes in traffic. Ellis also rebounded his position well and played good team defense.”
