The Duke basketball program currently sits with the No. 5 overall 2026 recruiting class according to 247Sports, a group that includes two 5-star prospects already, but Jon Scheyer and his staff aren't done with their efforts. Deron Rippey Jr., one of the top guards in the 2026 recruiting class, has been on the Blue Devils' radar for quite some time, and they've always been one of the frontrunners for his services. It was recently said that Rippey would be committing in the coming weeks, and now an official commitment date has been set in stone for the top guard.
Rippey will be announcing his college commitment on December 30th between Duke, Texas, Miami, Tennessee, and NC State. The 6'2, 175-pound talent has not received any crystal ball predictions up to this point. He's ranked as the No. 12 overall player, No. 1 point guard, and No. 1 player out of New Jersey according to the 247Sports 2026 Composite Rankings.
5-star Duke basketball target Deron Rippey Jr. will announce college commitment on December 30th
The Blair Academy (NJ) product has only been raising his stock throughout his senior season so far. Last week, Rippey went for 28 points on six made threes in a win over The Newman School (MA), leaving 247Sports' Adam Finkelstein, who was in attendance at the matchup, calling Rippey "the best point guard in the country."
NEWS: 5⭐️ Deron Rippey Jr. will announce his college commitment on December 30th, he tells @Rivals.
— Joe Tipton (@JoeTipton) December 16, 2025
The 6-1 point guard is the No. 6 overall player in the 2026 class, per Rivals.https://t.co/iUMr2JSALP pic.twitter.com/Xs8P44IGii
Rippey took his official visit to Durham from October 21st to the 23rd, and Scheyer conducted an in-home visit with the elite prospect in early September. The nation's top-ranked point guard was also in attendance at Madison Square Garden for the Blue Devils' Champions Classic win over Kansas.
Duke and NC State have been generally viewed as the favorites to land Rippey, but there hasn't been much news as to a true frontrunner.
The Blue Devils are also in contention for another stellar 2026 guard in 5-star Jordan Smith Jr., the No. 2 overall player in the nation per 247Sports. Smith took his official visit to Countdown to Craziness along with current 5-star Duke commit Cameron Williams, and just days after the official visit, Smith picked up a crystal ball prediction to land with the Blue Devils. A commitment date for Smith has yet to be decided.
So far, the Blue Devils have sealed commitments from 5-star forward Bryson Howard, Canadian seven-footer Maxime Meyer, and Williams.