Earlier this week, it was reported that four-star 2026 recruit Austin Goosby had moved up his official visit to Duke to this week, on August 27th. This comes just over a month after Jon Scheyer and his staff offered the four-star combo guard, and he wasted no time getting over to Durham. However, this also likely means that the Blue Devils are moving away from another top recruit in the class of 2026: five-star point guard Brandon McCoy.
Goosby is the No. 28 overall player, No. 6 combo guard, and No. 2 player out of the state of Texas per the 247Sports 2026 Composite Rankings. McCoy is the No. 4 overall player, No. 2 combo guard, and No. 3 player out of the state of California according to 247. Although McCoy is ranked as one of the top overall players in the class, it looks like Scheyer and the Blue Devils are more interested in the four-star Goosby.
It was reported that Duke wasn't as much of a lock for McCoy as it was once assumed throughout the five-star guard's recruitment, and then it was later reported that the Blue Devils were moving away from him entirely, to an extent.
McCoy took an official visit to Duke back in November 2024.
Goosby, a Texas native, is receiving predictions to land with the Longhorns, but it looks like Scheyer is starting to heat his efforts to land the guard. As one of the best recruiting staffs in the country, any program would be scared if Duke is fighting with them for a prospect.
Following the 2026 recruiting class as a whole is very interesting, as it's generally viewed as a much weaker class than any over the last decade or so. Many of the top prospects are viewed as projects who won't be able to contribute heavily to a championship-caliber team right away. No. 1 prospect Tyran Stokes is seen as far and away the best player in the class, and then the talent level falls off quite a bit.
So, it seems Scheyer is picking and choosing which prospects he thinks he can develop long-term in this class as opposed to trying to land the top talent to be integral parts of the team from day one.
Duke has yet to cement a commitment from a member of the class of 2026.